London | Reuters — The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will need to raise US$6.8 billion over the next six months to avert famine amid the COVID-19 crisis, the agency said on Tuesday. The WFP, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week for its efforts to prevent the use of hunger as […] Read more
World Food Program seeking billions within six months to avert famine
Pandemic may double hunger worldwide, agency says
Federal program to protect farms, workers from COVID-19 underway
'Highest-risk' farming operations to get priority, Bibeau says
Applications are now open for a federally-administered $35 million emergency on-farm support fund to help limit the impacts of COVID-19 on farms and on-farm workers. Aimed at farm workplaces and employee living quarters, the fund is being managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), but cost-shared with participating producers at a 50-50 level. Money is […] Read more
Canada to keep U.S. border curbs until pandemic much less serious
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will maintain restrictions on non-essential travel with the United States until the coronavirus outbreak in both nations is much less serious, a senior government official said on Friday. The comments by federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair suggest that the ban on non-essential travel could stay for months to come, […] Read more
Food retail order boom may ease after big quarter, Conagra says
Reuters — Conagra Brands put better-than-expected first quarter sales on Thursday down to heavy ordering by retailers worried about the durability of supply chains in the months ahead as a second wave of coronavirus cases takes hold. Shares in the foodstuffs maker dipped as much as three per cent before recovering after chief financial officer […] Read more
Ginseng piling up in Canada despite Chinese demand
Travel restrictions depress new-crop sales
Winnipeg/Hong Kong | Reuters — The pandemic’s crushing effect on international travel has grounded Canadian exports of ginseng, a root widely used in Asia to treat everything from the common cold to impotency, at a time when health is top of consumers’ minds. Canada is the world’s second-largest ginseng exporter after China, with most of […] Read more
Plant-based protein maker Roquette sees short-term COVID-19 impact
Demand could accelerate second Canadian plant
Paris | Reuters — The plant-based protein market has seen a slowdown in new product launches and lower sales in restaurants and cafeterias due to COVID-19 but benefited from more people cooking at home and trying new products, French manufacturer Roquette said. The market for plant-based protein such as meat-free burgers has surged in the […] Read more
COVID-19 means harvest will be ‘especially challenging’
You need all hands on deck, but what if someone shows symptoms of a cold or flu?
Reading Time: 4 minutes This year’s harvest is not going to be a normal one — and farmers and their families need to make adjustments accordingly, says the executive director of AgSafe Alberta. “It’s a significant challenge on farms because we’re looking at a cropping season that could last from now until November, so we have to manage people […] Read more
Saskatchewan extends WLPIP premium rebate if needed
Rebate to offset premium prices, if above pre-COVID levels
Saskatchewan’s temporary subsidy against price jumps in premiums for the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) will continue when needed to the end of 2020. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC), which administers the program in that province, announced Tuesday the WLPIP premium rebate is extended to Dec. 31, from its previous end date of Sept. […] Read more
This harvest, take a bit of time to do things differently
Instead of the usual go-go-go approach, think about how we can all learn to use time more wisely
Reading Time: 3 minutes I watched in horror a video on social media in which a farmer wrapped his preteen son in bale wrap. The child was in the machine! Later that week I coaxed an elderly man holding his electric saw down off a 25-foot extension ladder. At a lavender farm, I encouraged the owner to stop giving […] Read more
If you call them watering troughs, you don’t live in Toronto
Stock tank 'pools' have been a hit during the pandemic for housebound urbanites with tiny backyards
Stock tank ‘pools’ have been a hit during the pandemic for housebound urbanites with tiny backyards
Reading Time: 3 minutes You might think of a stock tank as a way to get water to your thirsty cattle or horses. But these days, city dwellers are seeing watering troughs in a whole new light — stylish little pools that fit into even tiny urban backyards. And they’ve proven to be a pandemic hit, said Jaclyn Kelly, […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
