Photo: Thinkstock

China accounting for bulk of Canadian canola exports so far

Chinese wheat imports roughly half of last years' at same time

China has done most of the heavy lifting when it comes to Canadian canola exports through the first three months of the 2023/24 marketing year (Aug/Jul), according to the latest international trade data released Dec. 6. Statistics Canada reported canola exports through October at 1.566 million tonnes, with China accounting for 64 per cent of the total (1.006 million tonnes). Japan and Mexico followed at 273,300 tonnes and 196,900 tonnes respectively.

McCain foods has launched Presia Ag Insights, a firm that will use artificial intelligence to advise growers.  Photo: McCain Foods

McCain launches new predictive ag firm

McCain Foods has formed a new digital agriculture subsidiary, Presia Ag Insights. The move builds on McCain’s 2022 acquisition of a “predictive crop portfolio” from Resson, a Fredricton, New Brunswick firm that uses artificial intelligence to advise farmers on crop management decisions. McCain, in a media release, said the Presia launch is “the result of […] Read more


Farmers Edge’ made its initial public offering in March of 2021. The event included a congratulatory note from TMX Group, owner of the TSX. (Farmers Edge video screengrab)

Farmers Edge considering privatization

The tech firm is evaluating a pennies on the dollar share buyback from its majority holder

Fewer than three years after going public, Manitoba-based tech firm Farmers Edge is considering a privatization proposal.

A customer pushes a shopping cart past organic products at the Bio fruits and vegetables section in a supermarket in Gattierese, France.

EU organic output out of step with consumption

European farmers say they are encouraged to produce organically amid waning consumer interest

Organic consumption is falling in Europe even as governments mandate more production using that farming system. The European Commission is not paying attention to what people want, said Lode Ceyssens, president of the Belgian Farmers Union in Flanders. Why it matters: The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy emphasizes sustainable agriculture production, and organic production is […] Read more

With 12 deaths reported from 2011 to 2020 and a rate of 4.3 per 100,000 farm population, children ages one to four are disproportionately represented in the total number of bystander equipment runovers in Canada.

Are your kids safe on the farm?

Sobering data offered by farm safety advocates show young children and seniors still figure heavily in ag deaths

There’s good and bad news on Canada’s farm injury front. Deaths on farms or related to farming practices dropped an average of 1.4 per cent annually from 2011 to 2020, according to data from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA). However, there were 624 agriculture-related deaths in that period, an average of 62 per year. […] Read more


This Lemken concept autonomous unit is much larger than most that have been developed.
 Photo: John Greig

5 lessons learned at Agritechnica

I spent five days at Agritechnica 2023 and here are five things I learned. It’s a challenge sometimes to pull out the strong European policy influence on exhibitors and farmers at this show, but there are lessons for Canadian farmers, and the technology created to manage European problems in some cases will make economic sense […] Read more

Photo: John Greig

Agritechnica wrap-up: New combines, tractors and industry trends

Agritechnica is the world’s largest agriculture machinery show, drawing more than 400,000 people from around the world to Hannover, Germany. Glacier FarmMedia Senior Technology Editor John Greig was there and summarized the major product launches and some of the ag-tech industry trends he observed. – John Greig is a senior editor with Glacier FarmMedia. Watch for much […] Read more