Reuters — General Mills on Monday said it saw record demand for its pantry staples, becoming the latest packaged food maker to see business spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, as homebound shoppers stocked up on comfort foods during lockdowns. The company joins Nomad Foods, Premier Foods, Nestle, Mondelez and other processed food makers, which have […] Read more
Packaged-food majors see sales spike in pandemic
Big brands may benefit from larger, more secure supply chains
More Mexican beef headed to U.S. dinner tables as supply crunch bites
"I think we're going to leap past Canada this year"
Mexico City/Chicago | Reuters — More Mexican steaks and other beef cuts are headed north of the border after the coronavirus outbreak has hobbled U.S. meat processing plants, potentially offsetting fears of shortages affecting businesses from fast-food chains to grocery stores but angering U.S. ranchers. The Mexican industry chalks up the export growth to new […] Read more
Australia requests China trade talks over beef, barley
Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s trade minister is seeking urgent talks with his Chinese counterpart after key agriculture exports were hit with suspensions and tariff threats, but said Australia will continue to push for an inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak. Trade minister Simon Birmingham requested a telephone call with Chinese commerce minister Zhong Shan after […] Read more
Laid-off foreign workers may get conditional clearance for other jobs
Workers allowed to start new jobs while permits are processed
Approved temporary foreign workers (TFWs) whose jobs disappeared before they could begin work in Canada this spring can now get much quicker approval to start at other workplaces, including farms, where the workers are needed. The federal government said Tuesday it will, effective “immediately,” temporarily waive its rule requiring a TFW to receive federal approval […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils stabilize with seeding underway
MarketsFarm — Lentil bids in Western Canada may have come off their recent highs, but prices are still solid and should encourage more seeded area this spring. Increased demand tied to the COVID-19 pandemic gave lentil prices a boost in March, with the largest gains in red lentils which hit highs around the 32 cents/lb. […] Read more
Agri-food tech expected to be a post-pandemic growth industry
Ag, food sectors may seek out more e-commerce, labour-saving tools
Ottawa — A researcher at the University of Guelph says the COVID-19 pandemic will spark agility – particularly related to technology – in agriculture. “(The pandemic) has re-emphasized the need to get access to some of the technology that exists in other sectors and are not easily accessible in agri-food systems,” said Rozita Dara, an […] Read more
Canada’s growers look to reopening garden centres to salvage dire year
Ottawa | Reuters — Hard-hit Canadian flower and nursery growers hope a surge in demand from budding gardeners in Ontario, the country’s biggest market, can help the industry avert disaster caused by the coronavirus with retailers reopening on Friday in the populous province. Most non-essential businesses in Canada were shut in mid-March as officials urged […] Read more
Adjustments likely ahead for StatsCan’s early acreage estimates
Projections still in line with grain trade's expectations
MarketsFarm — The results of the first acreage estimates for 2020 from Statistics Canada come with an asterisk, as the COVID-19 pandemic halted data collection early. Canada’s actual seeded area is expected to see some shifts from the projections released Thursday. “As a result of the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic, these estimates were produced […] Read more
Ag in Motion outdoor farm show going online instead for 2020
Showrunners plan free 'Ag in Motion Discovery Plus' online event
Glacier FarmMedia’s summer farm show Ag in Motion is coming in from the outdoors to operate in cyberspace for 2020. The event — which was due to run July 21-23 at the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm on Highway 16 west of Langham, Sask., about 40 km northwest of Saskatoon — has been rebranded for 2020 […] Read more
Cargill’s High River plant reopens with two slaughter shifts
Cutting line to resume Wednesday
Cargill’s southern Alberta beef packing plant, estimated to be responsible for over a third of Canada’s beef processing capacity, restarted Monday after a two-week COVID-19-related shutdown — but at a quicker pace than previously expected. The company said in a statement Monday it is resuming operations at the High River plant “with two shifts” in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
