The Canadian government is committed to plant breeding, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told members of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation on Tuesday. Some farmers and seed industry officials suspect Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) variety development work, along with many other programs, will be on the chopping block post-COVID-19 as the government tackles its […] Read more
Bibeau says government committed to federal plant breeding
Seed royalty consultations stalled
Farmers protest across India against Modi’s farm market reforms
New Delhi/Mumbai | Reuters — Farmers’ protests against new laws liberalizing agricultural markets spread across India on Tuesday, as farm organizations called for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In eastern and western states, farmers blocked roads and squatted on railway tracks, delaying hordes of people getting to work, […] Read more
India considers changing new farm laws after mass protests
New Delihi | Reuters — India’s government is considering rolling back some parts of its agricultural reforms after they triggered the biggest protests by farmers in years, officials said on Friday. Tens of thousands of farmers were out on the streets around Delhi again on Friday, rallying against three laws that the government says are […] Read more
Half the province on the dry side heading into winter
It’s a long time until spring, but soil moisture reserves are sharply lower compared to a year ago
Reading Time: < 1 minute Much of the province’s farmland is dry, according to the latest soil moisture update from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Soil moisture reserves at freeze-up are highly variable across the province with about 50 per cent of the agricultural areas estimated to have below-average reserves at fall freeze-up,” said the Nov. 8 report. “Large areas that […] Read more
Peru farm protests grip country, turn deadly
'There are no harvests, there is nothing'
Lima | Reuters — Protests by farm workers demanding better wages in Peru raged on for a fourth day Thursday, spreading north into key agricultural areas of the Andean nation, derailing harvests of some crops, snarling transport of produce and leaving at least one dead. Peruvian interim President Francisco Sagasti called the death of a […] Read more
Thunder Bay port on pace for largest season in over 20 years
MarketsFarm — Shipping activity through the Port of Thunder Bay remained strong during November, with just over a million tonnes of grain moving through the facility on the northern shore of Lake Superior. Increased demand for Canadian grain in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has led the port to a 20-year high for cargo […] Read more
Suspended pulse crop handlers partly reinstated
Companies can't buy or receive more grain from growers
Three suspended pulse and special crop handling and processing companies are again licensed to move Canadian grain — but not to buy any. The Canadian Grain Commission announced Monday it has reinstated the licences for Globeways Canada Inc. and its subsidiaries: Canpulse Foods Ltd., a pulse and canary seed processor at Kindersley, Sask., and Global […] Read more
Agronomy update to carry on, but in a virtual setting
Reading Time: < 1 minute The province’s four big crop commissions are “working together to continue the legacy of Agronomy Update.” The annual conference, formerly put on by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, will be a virtual affair this winter. This year’s event will be held Jan. 19-20 and will feature “a slate of high-quality speakers on a range of interesting […] Read more
U.S. puts duties on phosphate from Morocco, Russia
Reuters — The U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday it would set preliminary duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Russia and Morocco, after launching an investigation to determine if producers in these countries were receiving unfair subsidies. The department set preliminary duties of 23.46 per cent on imports from Morocco’s OCP Group and other producers […] Read more
Fall fertilizer prices offer more good news for Prairie growers
Prices for urea, phosphate and anhydrous ammonia are all at the lower end of their normal range
Prices for urea, phosphate and anhydrous ammonia are all at the lower end of their normal range
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fertilizer prices have seen some ups and downs over the past six months, but the situation heading into winter looks favourable. “When we look at the overall input markets so far in 2020, we see that they’ve kind of eased up. For producers right now, that’s a pretty good spot to be in,” said Craig […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
