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	Alberta Farmer ExpressU.S. Department of Agriculture Archives - Alberta Farmer Express	</title>
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		<title>Mexico to open sterile fly plant to combat screwworm in 2026</title>

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		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/mexico-to-open-sterile-fly-plant-to-combat-screwworm-in-2026/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2025 21:54:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Reuters]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Livestock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new world screwworm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[screwworm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/mexico-to-open-sterile-fly-plant-to-combat-screwworm-in-2026/</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>Mexico's government said on Monday that it has started to build a $51 million (C$69.8 million) facility in the country's south as part of an effort to combat screwworm, a pest that has disrupted Mexican exports of cattle to the United States.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/mexico-to-open-sterile-fly-plant-to-combat-screwworm-in-2026/">Mexico to open sterile fly plant to combat screwworm in 2026</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Mexico City | Reuters</em>—Mexico&#8217;s government said on Monday that it has started to build a $51 million (C$69.8 million) facility in the country&#8217;s south as part of an effort to combat screwworm, a pest that has <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/u-s-suspends-mexican-cattle-horse-and-bison-imports-over-new-world-screwworm">disrupted Mexican exports of cattle</a> to the United States.</p>
<p>Mexico&#8217;s agriculture ministry said in a statement that the plant, a joint project with the U.S., will produce 100 million sterile screwworm flies per week once completed in the first half of 2026.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Why it matters: The U.S. shut its southern border to Mexican cattle imports earlier this year due to a case of New World screwworm, reducing already tight cattle stocks.</strong></p>
<p>The release of sterile flies, which reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies, is a key tool in controlling the pest.</p>
<p>The United States, Mexico&#8217;s biggest trading partner, is paying $21 million of the cost and Mexico is spending $30 million, the statement said.</p>
<p>The U.S. closed its southern border to imports of certain livestock, including cattle, from Mexico on May 11 after screwworm, which has been eradicated in the U.S. for decades, began moving northward in Mexico.</p>
<p>On June 30, The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the gradual reopening of imports of cattle, bison and horses from Mexico. Ports are due to reopen in phases starting Monday, beginning with Douglas, Arizona.</p>
<p>The U.S. also announced plans to open a <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/usda-plans-sterile-fly-facility-in-texas-to-combat-screwworm">sterile fly dispersal facility</a> in Hidalgo County, Texas, as part of the country&#8217;s fight against screwworm.</p>
<p>The pest can infest livestock and wildlife and carry maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.</p>
<p><em>—Reporting by Adriana Barrera</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/mexico-to-open-sterile-fly-plant-to-combat-screwworm-in-2026/">Mexico to open sterile fly plant to combat screwworm in 2026</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>South Dakota, Ohio corn crops found better than 3-year average, tour finds</title>

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		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/south-dakota-ohio-corn-crops-found-better-than-3-year-average-tour-finds/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:38:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Julie Ingwersen, Karen Braun, Reuters]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corn futures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. corn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USDA]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[<p>Corn yield prospects in both Ohio and South Dakota were below last year's findings, but higher than the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Monday.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/south-dakota-ohio-corn-crops-found-better-than-3-year-average-tour-finds/">South Dakota, Ohio corn crops found better than 3-year average, tour finds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Grand Island, Nebraska | Reuters</em>—Corn yield prospects in both Ohio and South Dakota were below last year&#8217;s findings, but higher than the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top U.S. production states found on Monday.</p>
<p>Though scouts on the four-day crop tour said there was solid soybean crop potential in the two states, some questioned whether corn yields in South Dakota would hit the hefty levels the government has predicted &#8211; and whether there could be more grain in Ohio than expected.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month forecast a record U.S. soybean crop and the third-largest corn crop &#8211; a bounty that comes as grain and oilseed prices have slumped to nearly four-year lows amid robust global supplies and growing concerns about demand from top soybean buyer China.</p>
<p>South Dakota&#8217;s average corn yields were projected at 156.51 bushels per acre (bpa), the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour said, below the 2023 crop tour average of 157.42 bpa but higher than the three-year crop tour average of 142.44 bpa.</p>
<p>Some scouts found persistent rains at the beginning of the growing season had limited the number of ears on the plants, pressuring yields in some fields.</p>
<p>&#8220;It was disappointing,&#8221; crop scout Sherman Newlin said.</p>
<p>In Ohio, the tour&#8217;s state average corn yield was projected at 183.29 bpa, just below the 2023 crop tour average of 183.94 bpa and above the prior three-year average of 181.06 bpa.</p>
<p>The USDA has projected a seven per cent increase in South Dakota&#8217;s corn yield this year and a five per cent drop in Ohio&#8217;s, compared to 2023.</p>
<p>The four-day crop tour, which does not project soybean yields, estimated the amount of soybean pods in a 3-by-3-foot square in South Dakota at an average of 1,025.89 pods, up from last year&#8217;s average of 1,013.00 pods and above the three-year average of 960.42 pods.</p>
<p>It estimated the amount of soybean pods per 3-by-3-foot square in Ohio at an average of 1,229.93 pods, down from last year&#8217;s average of 1,252.93 pods but above the three-year average of 1,193.31 pods.</p>
<p>The tour will release forecasts for Indiana and Nebraska on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/south-dakota-ohio-corn-crops-found-better-than-3-year-average-tour-finds/">South Dakota, Ohio corn crops found better than 3-year average, tour finds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>US to clarify enforcement of antitrust laws in meatpacking</title>

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		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-clarify-enforcement-of-antitrust-laws-in-meatpacking/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 22:09:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Leah Douglas, Reuters]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meat packers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meat processing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USDA]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[<p>Livestock farmers in the U.S. would have a clearer path to bringing antitrust complaints against meatpacking companies for unfair business practices under a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-clarify-enforcement-of-antitrust-laws-in-meatpacking/">US to clarify enforcement of antitrust laws in meatpacking</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Livestock farmers in the U.S. would have a clearer path to bringing antitrust complaints against meatpacking companies for unfair business practices under a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The proposed rule is the fourth introduced by President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration to boost competition in the highly consolidated meatpacking industry.</p>
<p>Earlier rules would require fairer pay to chicken farmers, enhance transparency in poultry contracts, and prohibit retaliation against chicken farmers for raising concerns about anti-competitive behavior.</p>
<p>The rule proposed on Tuesday would clarify how farmers and ranchers should prove they have been harmed by alleged anti-competitive behavior of meatpackers and will better enable the USDA to enforce antitrust laws, the agency said in a press release.</p>
<p>&#8220;Entrenched market power and the abuses that flow from it remain an obstacle to achieving lower prices for consumers and fairer practices for producers,&#8221; said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement. &#8220;Today’s proposed rule stands for clear, transparent standards so that markets function fairly and competitively for consumers and producers alike.&#8221;</p>
<p>Farmers have argued that current regulations set the bar too high for proving they have been harmed by anti-competitive behavior, hindering their ability to seek recourse from USDA.</p>
<p>&#8220;Farmers have long deserved this certainty,&#8221; said Sarah Carden, research and policy development director for Farm Action, a farmer advocacy group.</p>
<p>The North American Meat Institute, a trade group, said in a statement the rule would expose meat packers to litigation and uncertainty.</p>
<p>&#8220;Under these proposed rules, everyone loses, the livestock producer, the packer and ultimately the consumer,&#8221; said Julie Anna Potts, the group&#8217;s president and CEO, in the statement.</p>
<p>The proposed rule will be open to public comment for 60 days.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-clarify-enforcement-of-antitrust-laws-in-meatpacking/">US to clarify enforcement of antitrust laws in meatpacking</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-provide-nearly-200-million-to-contain-bird-flu-spread-on-dairy-farms/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2024 18:04:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Leah Douglas, Reuters]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Avian influenza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bird flu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dairy Cattle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high path avian influenza]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HPAI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USDA]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[<p>The Biden administration said today it will provide nearly $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu among dairy cows, in the government's latest bid to contain outbreaks that have fueled concerns about human infections with the H5N1 virus.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-provide-nearly-200-million-to-contain-bird-flu-spread-on-dairy-farms/">US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Washington | Reuters</em>—The Biden administration said today it will provide nearly $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu among dairy cows, in the government&#8217;s latest bid to contain outbreaks that have fueled concerns about human infections with the H5N1 virus.</p>
<p>The virus has been detected among dairy cattle <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/colorado-dairy-herd-added-to-bird-flu-case-count">in nine states since late March</a>. Scientists have said they believe the outbreak is more widespread based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings of H5N1 particles in <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/bird-flu-testing-shows-more-dairy-products-are-safe-us-fda-says">about 20 per cent of retail milk samples.</a></p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $98 million available to provide up to $28,000 per dairy farm for efforts to contain the spread of the virus between animals and humans and for testing milk and animals for the virus, the agency said on Friday.</p>
<p>&#8220;USDA is doing the work to track and eliminate H5N1 in the dairy cattle herd,&#8221; said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on a call with reporters.</p>
<p>The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would provide $101 million through the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect public health and the nation&#8217;s food supply.</p>
<p>&#8220;The risk to the public from this outbreak remains low,&#8221; HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said on the call.</p>
<p>The money includes $34 million through the CDC for testing efforts and supporting public health labs, $8 million for vaccines, and $3 million for wastewater surveillance.</p>
<p>While the CDC has said the public health risk is low, scientists are closely watching for changes in the virus that could make it spread more easily among humans.</p>
<p>The FDA also will provide $8 million to ensure the safety of the commercial milk supply.</p>
<p>“At this stage there’s no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or beef supply,” Vilsack said on the call. Health experts have cautioned against the consumption of raw milk but said pasteurization appears to kill the virus.</p>
<p>One dairy farm worker in Texas tested positive for the virus and reported conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye.</p>
<p>To limit transmission in cattle, the USDA on April 29 started requiring lactating dairy cows to test negative before being shipped across state lines.</p>
<p>In the first week of the order, USDA laboratories reported 905 tests, of which 112 were presumptive positives, said an agency spokesperson.</p>
<p>The figure could include samples that were tested more than once or those collected for other purposes like research studies, the spokesperson said.</p>
<p><em>—Updated May 10 to include the number of USDA lab tests</em></p>
<p><em>—Additional reporting for Reuters by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/us-to-provide-nearly-200-million-to-contain-bird-flu-spread-on-dairy-farms/">US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>U.S. pulse area to rise in 2024</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/u-s-pulse-area-to-rise-in-2024/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Apr 2024 19:29:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Phil Franz-Warkentin, GFM Network News]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chickpea acres]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pea acres]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pulse acres]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USDA]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[<p>Area seeded to pulse crops in the United States should see a significant increase in 2024, with early indications pointing to more lentils, chickpeas, peas and edible beans going in the ground this spring.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/u-s-pulse-area-to-rise-in-2024/">U.S. pulse area to rise in 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Glacier FarmMedia</em> –</p>
<p>Lentils are expected to see the largest acreage increase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report, released March 28, which forecast a 39.5 per cent increase in seeded area to the crop on the year at 762,000 acres. If realized, that would be the largest lentil acreage in the U.S. since 2018, and well above the five-year average of 586,000 acres.</p>
<p>“We still have to get it in the ground… but growers are certainly responding to fairly strong pricing for all pulses,” said Tim McGreevy, CEO American Pulse Association and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council in Idaho on the expected acreage increases in all pulse crops.</p>
<p>“Lentils in particular are fairly priced, and wheat is not,” he added, noting given average yields, lentils would have the highest returns of all the pulses.</p>
<p>Lentil stocks are on the tighter side worldwide, while India has dropped tariffs on U.S. lentils which has contributed to the strength in that market, according to McGreevy. However, seed availability could be a limiting factor on the increase. Weather conditions through the growing season will also be important to watch going forward, especially as many regions remain on the dry side.</p>
<p>While rotational issues often mean that increases in one pulse crop can come at the expense of other pulses, McGreevy pointed out that all the major pulses grown in the U.S. are expected to see an increase in seeded area this year.</p>
<p>Chickpea acres in the U.S. are forecast to increase by 15.2 per cent on the year, at 429,000 acres, according to the USDA. That would be the largest acreage base since 2019.</p>
<p>Edible bean planting intentions at 1.316 million acres would be up by 11.5 per cent from 2023, with about half of the intended acres slated for North Dakota.</p>
<p>Pea area in the U.S. is forecast to increase by about one per cent on the year, at 974,000 acres.</p>
<p>—<em><strong>Phil Franz-Warkentin</strong> is an associate editor/analyst with <a href="https://marketsfarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarketsFarm</a> in Winnipeg. </em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/u-s-pulse-area-to-rise-in-2024/">U.S. pulse area to rise in 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>CBOT weekly outlook: Bullish USDA report lifts grain markets</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/cbot-weekly-outlook-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2023 21:23:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Adam Peleshaty, GFM Network News]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Crops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[argentina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cbot]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Corn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crop production]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ending stocks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[futures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soybean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/cbot-weekly-outlook-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>MarketsFarm &#8212; The bulls were off and running Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly supply/demand estimates, which showed underwhelming grain production and ending stock figures for the 2022-23 marketing year. U.S. corn production was estimated at 13.73 billion bushels, 192 million below the lower end of trade expectations despite a [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/cbot-weekly-outlook-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/cbot-weekly-outlook-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/">CBOT weekly outlook: Bullish USDA report lifts grain markets</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>MarketsFarm &#8212;</em> The bulls were off and running Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its monthly supply/demand estimates, which showed underwhelming grain production and ending stock figures for the 2022-23 marketing year.</p>
<p>U.S. corn production was estimated at 13.73 billion bushels, 192 million below the lower end of trade expectations despite a higher average yield. Projected ending stocks totalled 1.242 billion bushels, below the average guess of 1.302 billion.</p>
<p>U.S. soybean production was projected to be 4.276 billion bushels, 45 million below the lower end of trade expectations, while the crop&#8217;s ending stocks are to be 210 million bushels, near the lower end of analysts&#8217; pre-report estimates.</p>
<p>U.S. wheat production was left unchanged at 1.65 billion bushels, but ending stocks are expected to be 268.4 million bushels, three million more than the lower end of trade expectations.</p>
<p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t seen a decrease in demand offset lower production,&#8221; Sean Lusk, vice-president of Walsh Commercial Hedging Services in Chicago, said. &#8220;Not to mention, you have <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/worst-drought-in-decades-sees-argentina-exchange-slash-soy-corn-forecasts">Argentina</a> now buying (soybeans) from Brazil, you have inflationary gauges with the lower (U.S.) dollar this morning, aiding prices&#8230; You&#8217;re getting a bullish reaction, as you should.&#8221;</p>
<p>Over the past week, traders positioned themselves lower prior to the report, seemingly disregarding drought conditions for Argentine corn and soybeans as well as the effects of cheaper Russian wheat on the market.</p>
<p>The March corn contract <a href="https://www.agcanada.com/daily/u-s-grains-corn-soybeans-surge-after-usda-cuts-2022-harvest-view">gained</a> more than 20 cents per bushel in reaction to the report, posting a 15-cent gain on the day at the close at $6.71 (all figures US$). The March soybean contract did the same to end the day with a 25.5-cent gain at $15.1825/bu.</p>
<p>March contracts for Chicago wheat and Kansas City hard red wheat also gained 20 cents per bushel from their lows ahead of the reports to close at $7.4275 and $8.35, respectively &#8212; gains of 2.75 cents and 12.75 cents from the previous day.</p>
<p>Lusk predicts that corn will move up to $6.76/bu. at the end of the week with the potential to go to $6.90/bu. in the near future. He also anticipates soybean prices to go higher, which could be tempered if there is no strong demand from China.</p>
<p>&#8220;(Argentina) has no carryover from last year (because during) their export program in the fall, they sold them all out. Now you have a situation where everyone&#8217;s relying on one country (Brazil). (The U.S.) has beans for sale, but there&#8217;s not a lot of sales,&#8221; Lusk said. &#8220;We could have a big move higher.&#8221;</p>
<p>However, he is also not making any predictions as to how prices will fare into next week and beyond.</p>
<p>&#8220;Next week, all bets are off, because if you have a bearish weather outlook in Argentina, maybe things slip,&#8221; Lusk said.</p>
<p><strong>&#8212; Adam Peleshaty</strong><em> reports for <a href="https://marketsfarm.com/cbot-weekly-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/">MarketsFarm</a> from Stonewall, Man</em>.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/cbot-weekly-outlook-bullish-usda-report-lifts-grain-markets/">CBOT weekly outlook: Bullish USDA report lifts grain markets</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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				<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">150674</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Nutrien sees big corn comeback in 2020, following U.S. floods</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/fertilizer-dealer-nutrien-sees-big-corn-comeback-in-2020-following-u-s-floods/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Jul 2019 12:23:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Rod Nickel]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Corn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reuters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flooding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nutrien]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/fertilizer-dealer-nutrien-sees-big-corn-comeback-in-2020-following-u-s-floods/</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>Winnipeg &#124; Reuters – Fertilizer producer and farm supply dealer Nutrien Ltd expects U.S. farmers to plant as many as 95 million acres (38.5 million hectares) of corn next year, the most in seven years, after a frustrating year of floods, its chief executive said. The wet conditions left millions of acres unplanted across the [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/fertilizer-dealer-nutrien-sees-big-corn-comeback-in-2020-following-u-s-floods/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/fertilizer-dealer-nutrien-sees-big-corn-comeback-in-2020-following-u-s-floods/">Nutrien sees big corn comeback in 2020, following U.S. floods</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Winnipeg | Reuters</em> – Fertilizer producer and farm supply dealer Nutrien Ltd expects U.S. farmers to plant as many as 95 million acres (38.5 million hectares) of corn next year, the most in seven years, after a frustrating year of floods, its chief executive said.</p>
<p>The wet conditions left millions of acres unplanted across the U.S. farm belt, but have also lifted corn prices and given farmers incentive to sow more next year, Chief Executive Chuck Magro said on a quarterly conference call on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Chicago December corn futures traded on Tuesday at $4.21 per bushel, up more than 10 percent from a year earlier.</p>
<p>“We do expect a pretty significant rebound in market fundamentals in 2020,” Magro said. &#8220;You can see it in crop pricing futures but you can also see it in some of the business we&#8217;re seeing in crop protection (products) in the third quarter.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;2020 is setting up to be a very good agricultural year.&#8221;</p>
<p>Shares of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Nutrien jumped 8 percent in Toronto, despite cutting its full-year profit forecast due to wet U.S. weather this spring that lowered spending by farmers on supplies such as fertilizer.</p>
<p>The company&#8217;s quarterly results nonetheless showed resilience against what Nutrien called &#8220;the worst U.S. planting season in history,&#8221; Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen said.</p>
<p>Nutrien is the world&#8217;s biggest fertilizer producer by capacity, and owns the largest network of farm retail supply stores in the United States.</p>
<p>It estimates U.S. corn plantings in 2019 between 85 million and 87 million acres, the lowest in a decade. Corn is a particularly important crop for agribusiness because it requires more fertilizer than others such as soybeans.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that U.S. farmers planted 91.7 million acres of corn this year. But the department is taking the rare step of conducting a fresh survey of farmers amid doubts by traders that USDA&#8217;s current estimate captures the weather damage.</p>
<p>The new estimate is expected on Aug. 12.</p>
<p><em>– Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/fertilizer-dealer-nutrien-sees-big-corn-comeback-in-2020-following-u-s-floods/">Nutrien sees big corn comeback in 2020, following U.S. floods</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>Trade war and sagging prices push out U.S. farmers</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/trade-war-and-sagging-prices-push-out-u-s-farmers-2/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2019 19:21:39 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[P.J. Huffstutter]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agricultural machinery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corn prices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[harvest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soybean prices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tractor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trade war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/?p=113721</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p><span class="rt-reading-time" style="display: block;"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix">Reading Time: </span> <span class="rt-time">5</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">minutes</span></span> Shuffling across his frozen fields, farmer Jim Taphorn hunched his shoulders against the wind and squinted at the auctioneer standing next to his tractors. After a fifth harvest with low grain prices, made worse last fall by the U.S.-China trade war, the 68-year-old and his family were calling it quits. Farming also was taking a physical toll [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/trade-war-and-sagging-prices-push-out-u-s-farmers-2/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/trade-war-and-sagging-prices-push-out-u-s-farmers-2/">Trade war and sagging prices push out U.S. farmers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Shuffling across his frozen fields, farmer Jim Taphorn hunched his shoulders against the wind and squinted at the auctioneer standing next to his tractors.</p>
<p>After a fifth harvest with low grain prices, made worse last fall by the U.S.-China trade war, the 68-year-old and his family were calling it quits. Farming also was taking a physical toll on him, he said; he’d suffered a heart attack 15 months before.</p>
<p>It took less than four hours to sell off all the tractors, combines, and other farm equipment at the Taphorn retirement sale, ending a family tradition that had survived nearly a century.</p>
<p>“We went through the bad times in the ’70s and ’80s,” said Jim, 68, broadshouldered and stocky. “In some ways, this is worse.”</p>
<p>Across the Midwest, growing numbers of grain farmers are choosing to shed their machinery and find renters for their land, all to stem the financial strain on their families, a dozen leading farm-equipment auction houses told Reuters. As these older grain farmers are retiring, fewer younger people are lining up to replace them.</p>
<p>The trend has created boom times for the auction houses, which report that their retirement business has grown 30 per cent or more over the past six months, compared to the same period a year earlier.</p>
<p>But it is expected to put a strain on the agricultural supply chain: It means fewer customers for seed and chemical companies, fewer machine buyers, and fewer suppliers for grain merchants.</p>
<p>The revival of the family farming tradition proved short lived.</p>
<p>In the wake of the U.S. recession of 2007-08, the lure of high grain prices drew young people from their city jobs to their family’s fields.</p>
<p>By 2012, farm profits were flourishing as corn and soybean prices soared amid global demand and tight supplies. For the first time in decades, the number of producers aged 44 or younger in the Midwest grew.</p>
<p>From the financial crisis in 2008 through 2012, their ranks increased more than 40 per cent in Iowa and Illinois, nearly 57 per cent in Indiana and 60 per cent in Kansas, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.</p>
<p>Taphorn’s son Tom, who works as a district manager at a cattle feed company near Manhattan, Kansas, was among those who wanted to return home to farm with his parents.</p>
<p>But the father of three couldn’t make it work. During the boom, Tom sought to expand by renting more land. But as grain prices fell, most landlords refused to lower their rates. It was beyond Tom’s reach, leaving him and his parents with too little land to till to cover two families’ expenses.</p>
<p>Tom kept his job. Jim and Karen knew no one else in their family would take over their business. So they decided to sell their equipment and rent out their land.</p>
<h2>Comes down to math</h2>
<p>At the Taphorns’ auction, Karen, 68, reached for her husband’s hand, squeezing it hard.</p>
<p>“Karen, it’s OK to shed a tear,” auctioneer Dan Sullivan said as she pressed her face into her husband’s shoulder. “It’s the end of an era.”</p>
<p>Farmer retirement rates are not tracked by either state or U.S. government agencies, but federal data shows the ranks of farmers are gradually aging. The average age of U.S. farm operators was 57.5 years in 2017, up from 54.3 years in 1997.</p>
<p>The number of farms is shrinking, too, as the industry increasingly is consolidated either into the hands of large-scale operators or tiny niche crop growers. Mid-size farms — those with annual sales of more than $50,000 but less than $5 million — are dwindling.</p>
<p>For many families, leaving farming is a painful but simple calculation: The trade war with China, set off by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, has lasted nearly 10 months.</p>
<p>China, the top buyer of U.S. soybeans, the nation’s most valuable agricultural export, has dramatically reduced its purchases. Grain prices have remained stubbornly low and operating costs are rising fast.</p>
<p>Such factors now are “speeding things up” among farmers deciding to retire, says H. Andrew Pyron, chief executive of Big Iron Auctions in St. Edward, Nebraska.</p>
<h2>Ill-timed bet</h2>
<p>In the spring of 2018, Mike and Linda Manson of De Soto, Kansas, decided to plant soy on all their fields.</p>
<p>It was an ill-timed bet, coming just before China applied retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans</p>
<p>By summer, U.S. soybean exports had plummeted. Heavy rains hammered the plants, reducing their crop. Finding help at harvest was tough, too, because healthy young people are hard to come by in the industry these days.</p>
<p>“I had one guy, a retiree, helping me. But he’s fat and his knees gave out on him, so he couldn’t get into the combine,” Mike Manson, 69, said wryly.</p>
<p>The erosion of multi-generational family farms is painful for sons and daughters as well.</p>
<p>“I’m the only son of an only son, and I was still trying to figure out my path back to the farm,” said Sam Hudson, 34, who co-owns an agricultural marketing firm in central Illinois.</p>
<p>His father has a small farm. Even if the men borrowed $1 million to get enough land, equipment and other supplies to scale up the operation, the business might only break even, given current grain prices and land rent costs.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t make any sense right now,” he said.</p>
<h2>A boon to auctioneers</h2>
<p>The budget-conscious farmers who remain seek deals on quality used equipment rather than splurging at dealerships, auctioneers say.</p>
<p>Steffes Group, a top auction firm in the upper Midwest, recently had to juggle staff to cover three large retirement auctions in three states on the same day, auctioneer Scott Steffes said. Big Iron Auction’s retirement farm business has surged 40 per cent this year.</p>
<p>“Up until now, there wasn’t a lot of motivation to exit farming,” Steffes said. “Now, what I’m hearing from folks is, ‘It’s no longer fun to farm.’”</p>
<p>Many farmers don’t have retirement safety nets. Now they’re worried that if they keep going, they’ll have to take on debt against land they own, which will threaten their income stream long term.</p>
<p>“We’re getting calls every day from farmers looking to sell off their equipment, but keep the land,” said Luke Sullivan of Sullivan Auctioneers, headquartered in Hamilton, Illinois. “They want to rent out their ground, because that land is their retirement.”</p>
<p>Some renters propose to split farm expenses and pay landlords in corn or soybeans, not cash, the modern equivalent of sharecropping. But typically retirees seek renters who pay top dollar, tenants who are big and can farm thousands of acres.</p>
<p>The Taphorns were different: They turned down several huge operations as renters, instead choosing to be paid less by a young family trying to expand their business.</p>
<h2>Bidders swarm in</h2>
<p>For weeks, out-of-town farmers and machinery buyers had called the Taphorns to ask questions about their equipment.</p>
<p>On auction day, buyers from four different states joined the crowd of locals. Bidders also flocked to the Sullivan Auctioneers website.</p>
<p>Jim’s tractor went to a middle-aged farmer in Illinois. Another farmer from Iowa grabbed his planter. The soil ripper went to a guy in Kansas, about 100 miles away.</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, old friends started calling, asking for help in their fields.</p>
<p>One was in his early 60s and had injured his leg over the winter. Jim assured his friend he’d be there — forever a farmer, even in retirement.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/trade-war-and-sagging-prices-push-out-u-s-farmers-2/">Trade war and sagging prices push out U.S. farmers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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		<title>Where are the Canadian genome-editing startups?</title>

		<link>
		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/where-are-the-canadian-genome-editing-startups/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Mar 2019 18:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeff Melchior]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Crops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Biotechnology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CRISPR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Genetic engineering]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[genomics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/?p=74276</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p><span class="rt-reading-time" style="display: block;"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix">Reading Time: </span> <span class="rt-time">4</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">minutes</span></span> Genome editing has made some major strides in the past year. Minnesota-based Calyxt struck a deal with a processor to make oil from its GE soybeans, in which the genes responsible for trans fats have been ‘turned off.’ And SU Canola (a sulfonyurea herbicide-resistant variety) was given its Canadian commercial release a year ago by [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/where-are-the-canadian-genome-editing-startups/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/where-are-the-canadian-genome-editing-startups/">Where are the Canadian genome-editing startups?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Genome editing has made some major strides in the past year.</p>
<p>Minnesota-based Calyxt struck a deal with a processor to make oil from its GE soybeans, in which the genes responsible for trans fats have been ‘turned off.’</p>
<p>And SU Canola (a sulfonyurea herbicide-resistant variety) was given its Canadian commercial release a year ago by San Diego plant-breeding company Cibus.</p>
<p>One of the things that stands out about these two companies is their names. They are not Bayer, Syngenta, DowDuPont, or other big global players usually associated with ag biotech. Rather, both are relatively new, smaller companies for which relatively cheap GE technology has opened a new world of opportunity.</p>
<p>So where are the homegrown Canadian GE startups?</p>
<p>At this point, there are few as far as anyone knows. However, academic institutions and well-funded ag biotech companies are digging into the space, said Gijs van Rooijen, chief scientific officer with Genome Alberta, a major funder of public genomic research in the province.</p>
<p>“There is a lot of private research occurring at commercial entities that is not directly visible to the general public,” he said. “At the same time, there is significant research happening at publicly funded academic institutions.”</p>
<p>For researchers, private or public, the process of genome editing (also called gene editing) has greatly reduced costs. Technologies such as <a href="https://www.country-guide.ca/crops/crispr-technology-to-push-traditional-gmo-plant-breeding-aside/51974/">CRISPR</a>/Cas9 allow for a much faster process — possibly up to 90 per cent faster, according to some experts — than traditional crossbreeding or transgenic mutation (the technology used to create genetically modified organisms). This has thrown open the field of ag biotech to a host of new players.</p>
<p>Genome Alberta is funding some of that work, particularly projects examining the genomics of cattle and what is possible in terms of reducing feed inefficiency and methane emissions. The findings may have implications for GE work in the future, but van Rooijen said any objectives will likely be realized through traditional breeding as there is currently little social licence for genome-edited cattle.</p>
<p>“To date, there are no genome-edited animals approved for commercial use and the question remains whether or not society will be comfortable with this technology as applied to animals,” said van Rooijen.</p>
<p>And even though genome-editing technology is relatively inexpensive, ag biotech is a tough business with high costs of entry, said van Rooijen.</p>
<p>In fact, any Canadian biotech startup with a new GE crop would likely want to look at commercializing it south of the border, where a far different regulatory approach exists. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled GE plants are not GMOs, which allows genome-edited products to get to market faster and with minimal vetting.</p>
<p>The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, on the other hand, has ‘<a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2019/03/06/canadian-plant-approval-process-lengthy-but-worthwhile/">plants with novel traits</a>’ regulations. Under this system, it doesn’t matter if a new plant breed comes via traditional crossbreeding, genetic modification or genome editing — if it’s got a novel trait, it is subject to a rigorous, and often lengthy approval, process.</p>
<p>While the U.S. approach may be good for GE developers, Canada’s product-focused regulatory approach is better from an overall safety perspective, said van Rooijen.</p>
<p>“I think regulating byproduct is the right way to go,” he said. “There are plant species that are not very healthy for humans to consume. If someone wanted to commercialize a toxic plant species for human consumption — even if the toxic trait has been removed — you really want to make sure they are regulated based on product to assure they are safe for human and animal consumption.”</p>
<p>In its simplest definition, genome editing involves the ability to turn plant genes ‘on’ or ‘off’ depending on what trait you’re focused on — there is no introduction of foreign material or lengthy crossbreeding necessary. Advances in gene sequencing have given researchers the ability to quickly identify where genes are located on the cellular level, enabling the genome editing process and making it faster.</p>
<p>Although not specifically related to GE, Genome Alberta is funding several genome sequencing research projects in livestock. Genome sequencing is an important precursor to genome editing because it helps researchers identify the traits and associated genes they wish to emphasize or silence. Public acceptance will need to be won before genome editing becomes an important tool in livestock researchers’ tool boxes, but a better understanding of the genome is also important for traditional breeding.</p>
<p>“Genomics is being used to learn everything there is to learn about the cow genome — which genes are responsible for particular traits and the benefits of breeding those traits into the commercial stock,” said van Rooijen. “It will be really informative to cow-calf breeders to determine which bull to breed with which cow in order to come up with a progeny that is going to be better than what they started out with.</p>
<p>“If you can try to understand what is causing that variation then you can start breeding for cows that have a reduced methane output. By doing so, we’re basically developing cows that are better for the environment.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, government researchers are thinking about how GE technology can help alfalfa producers deal with climate change. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers Stacy Singer in Lethbridge and London, Ont. colleague Abdelali Hannoufa are looking at how to introduce resistance to drought, salt, and abiotic stresses into alfalfa.</p>
<p>“There are wild relatives of alfalfa that are very tolerant to drought and salt — much more so than cultivated alfalfa,” said Singer. “We’re trying to identify which genes are the cause of this enhancement in drought tolerance in these wild relatives compared to alfalfa.</p>
<p>“We are targeting different genes that AAFC London has shown previously to be involved in some of these processes,” said Singer. “We are trying out different strategies hoping that some might work better than others in alfalfa.”</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/news/where-are-the-canadian-genome-editing-startups/">Where are the Canadian genome-editing startups?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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				<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">74276</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Data is too important to be left in the hands of others</title>

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		https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/opinion/agricultural-data-is-too-important-to-be-left-in-the-hands-of-others/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jan 2019 20:02:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Brenda Schoepp]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[From the Hip]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business/Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Futures contract]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/?p=73885</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p><span class="rt-reading-time" style="display: block;"><span class="rt-label rt-prefix">Reading Time: </span> <span class="rt-time">3</span> <span class="rt-label rt-postfix">minutes</span></span> Vulnerability is a word that I have taken to heart a lot in the past few years. We are vulnerable when we change, or seek change; vulnerable when we are left open to volatile weather or markets; and in agriculture, we are extraordinarily vulnerable when we are without data. The partial shutdown of the U.S. [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/opinion/agricultural-data-is-too-important-to-be-left-in-the-hands-of-others/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/opinion/agricultural-data-is-too-important-to-be-left-in-the-hands-of-others/">Data is too important to be left in the hands of others</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Vulnerability is a word that I have taken to heart a lot in the past few years.</p>
<p>We are vulnerable when we change, or seek change; vulnerable when we are left open to volatile weather or markets; and in agriculture, we are extraordinarily vulnerable when we are without data.</p>
<p>The partial shutdown of the U.S. government, the 10th since 1980, has left data holes throughout agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports were not printed and that left the market in the dark, and all of this at a time when the trade situation is fragile.</p>
<p>The opportunists were waiting in the wings but one can only speculate, unless you have some internal information, what the market volatility and adjustments might look like. This can have a profound effect on Canadian agriculture. StatsCan has warned about the effect on critical Canadian reports.</p>
<p>As many of our commodity markets are tied to the <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/daily/u-s-livestock-cme-hogs-weaken-on-technical-selling-demand-uncertainty">Chicago Mercantile Exchange</a> (CME), the lack of official data to back up the trade left investors vulnerable, and doubly so for those producing the commodity or using it in a processed food product. Food inspection in the U.S. was also shut down (as was the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) and research was halted.</p>
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<li><strong>More with Brenda Schoepp: <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/2019/01/14/melting-polar-ice-and-a-warming-north-will-have-an-effect-on-agriculture/">What happens up north also affects southern Canada</a></strong></li>
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<p>From an international perspective, this only weakened the U.S. at the trade table as it come in with outdated data and an ever-weakening economy and dollar. Analysts forecast the shutdown would slow gross domestic product (GDP) growth by US$1 billon per week, even though contracts and the current price (spot price) might trade higher.</p>
<p>The majority of Canadian trade is still with the U.S. and that puts sales at risk in a multitude of ways. When federal employees are not paid, they will cut back on groceries and other essential items. This has a domino effect that is going to have a long recovery time impacting Canadians.</p>
<p>For agriculture, it brings to light the vulnerable place that perishable products reside.</p>
<p>If commodities or products cannot be stored long term, shipped, or processed, it hits hard. There is an artery of food delivery that needs to function at all times. The 2019 projection of the increase of food costs to the average Canadian family will be spurred by real or perceived delivery delays.</p>
<p>More importantly, the scenario reminds us why it is so important to have data as an essential service. Where is the product? Who owns it now? How is it being maintained, sold, or transported? What are investors and traders thinking about that information? How will they process it with/without supporting evidence?</p>
<p>Economically speaking, the U.S. is quickly disintegrating under the folly of its president, and falling from social grace and from its position of world dominance. Canada is a world leader in agricultural product as the fifth-largest global exporter and in world-class food processing (ranking 11th in terms of exports).</p>
<p>This is an opportunity to brush up on our research, data provision, data analytics, and technology applications. We have been seriously weak in this area and have not provided players in the ag sector — producers through to global traders — with the information they need in a detailed enough way to establish essential information such as product identity or even real-time pricing or forward pricing. This strategy also is a benefit to other top trader commodities such as minerals, vehicles, metals, precious stones, chemicals, plastics, wood and all agricultural byproducts.</p>
<p>Private companies are more involved in data services for agriculture than ever, but are still dependent on critical pieces of information such as USDA reports and CME volume and trade.</p>
<p>My question is: Is it our time in history to shift the power from agricultural pricing based on USDA data to Canadian pricing based on Canadian data? And is volume really the key driver or can price be established on attributes and value?</p>
<p>The volatility of markets has always been a handicap and volatility stems from real-time events that are reported and real-time events that are not reported. Canada has value and quality; modestly adapts to technology and data usage; but is woefully short on the application of this knowledge and in self-governing and self-determining that value to external markets.</p>
<p>Data is about putting power back into the hands that feed us. It isn’t enough to know what the price is, but the fundamentals (the why) behind price discovery.</p>
<p>Canadians are great in business, but we do have a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to fully appreciating our position on the world stage, and in particular on the most important stage of all — food.</p>
<p>It’s our turn now to look at enabling legislation, creative data and technology adaptation and a full appreciation of ourselves towards ownership of price structure and volatility and vulnerability in the food space.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca/opinion/agricultural-data-is-too-important-to-be-left-in-the-hands-of-others/">Data is too important to be left in the hands of others</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.albertafarmexpress.ca">Alberta Farmer Express</a>.</p>
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