“Don’t see a lot of meat or dairy!” That tweet from Simon Somogyi, Arrell Chair in the Business of Food at University of Guelph food expert summed up the reaction of many farm groups in the country following the unveiling of the revamped Canada’s Food Guide. As expected, Health Canada’s new edition of the guide […] Read more
A plateful of advice offered in new national food guide
But that plate has less meat, more plant-based protein, and water is the ‘drink of choice’
USDA to reopen all farm agency offices
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it will reopen all Farm Service Agency offices on Thursday to offer services to farmers and ranchers during the partial government shutdown. Some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices had been providing limited services since Jan. 17, but the move means all of the agency’s […] Read more
Eat plant-based foods more often, new Food Guide says
Health Canada unveiled a new Canada Food Guide today that ends the era of the ‘four food groups,’ no longer refers to serving sizes nor specific amounts of food to eat daily, and replaces the former iconic rainbow with a dinner plate comprised mostly of plant-based foods. This new guide is all about proportion rather […] Read more
Bunge names acting CEO, cuts 2018 guidance
Reuters — Global grains trader Bunge appointed one of a slew of new board members as its acting CEO on Tuesday and cut its 2018 earnings forecast as the U.S.-China trade war battered soybean prices and devalued the company’s inventory in Brazil. Gregory Heckman, a founding partner of private investment firm Flatwater Partners and former […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy, corn sag on uncertainty over China trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures fell to session lows on Tuesday on reports that the Trump administration turned down Chinese offers this week for preparatory trade talks, brokers said. The declines in corn and soybeans also pared advances in wheat futures, which nonetheless ended higher on signs of tightening Russian supplies. […] Read more
Railways ration space as commodity congestion problems worsen
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s two major railways are rationing space on trains traveling to the country’s biggest port and recently prioritized some commodities over others to deal with congestion, the latest indication of their struggle to meet demand from new trade deals. That move prompted Canada’s transport regulator last week to start an investigation […] Read more
Brazil ag minister eyes indigenous land for commercial farming
Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil should open indigenous land to commercial farming, Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said on Friday, while also seeking to soften many of President Jair Bolsonaro’s controversial stances on native people and the environment. Farmers form a key base of support for right-wing firebrand Bolsonaro who since taking office Jan. 1 […] Read more
U.S. grains: Renewed optimism for China trade talks lifts grains
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rose for a third straight session on Friday in a broad commodities and equities market rally sparked by renewed optimism about U.S.-China trade talks. Wheat edged upward along with corn and soy, but shed gains late in the day as traders pocketed profits fueled by media […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prairie prices stable during mild winter
With the mild winter Western Canada has been experiencing, feed grain buyers expect prices should stay quiet for the next while. “I would say the buyers have adequate coverage for January, February, even a bit of March. And I would say we maybe have seen the (barley) price soften up a bit,” said Nelson Neumann, […] Read more
Glyphosate raises milling questions
There’s more to the controversy surrounding glyphosate than whether the herbicide is safe to use or not: one miller has said it found oats and other grains treated with pre-harvest glyphosate don’t mill as well as untreated grains. Since 2015, Grain Millers Inc. has had a glyphosate-free policy on oats, said Eric Deblieck, a crop […] Read more
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