Ruminant producers, but especially beef producers, have been caught in a vortex of environmental emotion that is not supported by accurate science or informed advocates.

Schoepp: Ruminants in the COP28 crosshairs

There’s been little meaningful engagement with agriculture on this issue

Reading Time: 4 minutes The United Nations Climate Conference, COP28, recently held in Rome, was for the first time focused on agriculture. The outcome seems to be a set of seriously flawed directives for farmers. In the 28-year history of the Conference of the Parties, agriculture has always taken a backseat. The 2023 meetings brought food production forward, not […] Read more


File photo of sunset over port facilities at Odesa. (Mixarde/iStock/Getty Images)

Ukraine could fail to meet future wheat demand if attacks continue, UN agency warns

Report shows 31 attacks on grain facilities since mid-July

United Nations | Reuters — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that Ukraine’s wheat production may be unable to meet domestic and export demand in the years to come if Black Sea export routes remain blocked and attacks on food infrastructure continue. WFP’s Ukraine director, Matthew Hollingworth, said a forthcoming report […] Read more

File photo of barley being unloaded at a grain terminal in Ukraine on June 23, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Igor Tkachenko)

U.N. held talks in Russia on Monday on grain, fertilizer exports

'Unimpeded access' sought for Ukrainian, Russian grain

United Nations | Reuters — Top United Nations trade official Rebeca Grynspan met with Russian officials in Moscow on Monday for talks aimed at enabling the “unimpeded access” to global markets for grain and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine, a U.N. spokesperson said. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths also attended the meetings virtually, U.N. spokesperson […] Read more


Russia says conditions key to grain deal

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says action needed before his country will move

Reading Time: 2 minutes Russia will return to the Black Sea grain deal ‘the same day’ as Moscow’s conditions for export of its own grain and fertilizers to the global markets are met, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters September 11. Russia quit the deal in July, a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, […] Read more

File photo of seasonal agriculture workers from Jamaica at Suncrest Orchards near Simcoe, Ont. (Farmtario photo by Diana Martin)

UN rapporteur calls Canada’s TFW system ‘breeding ground for modern slavery’

Tomoya Obokata says government needs to better protect worker rights and provide better residency path

A United Nations special rapporteur on modern slavery has called out Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs, including those in the agriculture sector. Tomoya Obokata, who was appointed by the UN’s Human Rights Council, spoke in Ottawa Sept. 6 following a 14-day visit to Canada. He called the programs “a breeding ground for contemporary forms […] Read more