Live and fed cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange continued lower on Friday, as retaliatory trade action by China pressured the United States markets. China announced it will impose a 34 per cent levy on its imports from the U.S. beginning April 10.

U.S. livestock: Prices down as China strikes back

Saskatchewan cow tests positive for bovine tuberculosis
A cow raised in Saskatchewan has tested positive for bovine tuberculosis the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced late Tuesday.

USDA lowers wheat carryout calls, minor adjustments elsewhere
Corn production in Argentina and Brazil left unchanged in new report
Wheat ending stocks in the United States and around the world may be tighter than earlier thought, according to the latest supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Dec. 8.

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 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 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.

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

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

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

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