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There is a growing feeling that trade is not as important as it once was to America’s economic future.
News

Anti-trade sentiment grips the United States

U.S. is undermining the World Trade Organization amid domestic pressure to lower trade

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Blake Hurst senses shifting trade winds in the United States, and he doesn’t like the direction they are blowing. “Agriculture faces some real dangers from a change in our opinion and our approach to trade,” said the president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Why it matters: Changing global trade patterns render markets […] Read more
Canadian government farm support was halved from 35 per cent in 1986-88 to 17 per cent in 2000-02 and then halved again between then and now.
News

Canadian farm supports below OECD average

Unlike other countries, Canada has focused investment on innovation rather than farm safety nets and investment in agriculture

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada does not subsidize its farmers to the same extent as other nations, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. “Support to producers continues to be well below the OECD average in recent years,” stated the report. Why it matters: Subsidies can provide a competitive advantage or […] Read more
The change should increase cumulative greenhouse gas reductions by six per cent over the 2022 to 2030 period of the program, resulting in more ethanol blending over the program’s life.
News

COVID-19 means push back of Clean Fuel Standard

The move to support the oil sector means slower ethanol use growth

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s ethanol industry is unfazed by the federal government’s revelation that it is pushing back some of its greenhouse gas reduction targets in the proposed Clean Fuel Standard. “I think it’s fair to look at a reasonable delay,” said Renewable Industries Canada spokesperson Andrea Kent. Why it matters: Expanding ethanol demand is […] Read more
The high oleic soybeans market has seen slow growth.
Crops, News

Oilseed sector waits for high-oleic market growth

Demand for high oleic soybean oil expected to grow because of palm oil production decline

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – North American oilseed growers should brace for an explosion in demand for high oleic oils, says a senior executive with the organization that administers the United States soybean checkoff. “We expect the world to be in a significant deficit situation by 2025 and that will reach its peak in 2030,” said John […] Read more
The USDA forecasts a little more than two billion bushels of U.S. corn carryout in 2019- 20.
Markets, News

Why there’s so much U.S. anxiety over corn

U.S. corn stocks-to-use ratio is expected to inflate to a bloated 29 per cent next crop year, shredding already low prices

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Corn prices are going to tank in 2020-21, according to a leading agricultural economist from the United States corn belt. Why it matters: The U.S. market sets the base price for corn and many other crops in Canada, although Ontario producers are often buffered by a lower Canadian dollar. The U.S. Department […] Read more
Livestock, News

Ottawa proposes levy on imported pork products

The levy of 75 cents per hog would fund research and promotion similar to beef sector program

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada wants to start charging a levy on imported pork to help fund research and promotion activities. The federal government is proposing to establish the Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency to manage the levy and help co-ordinate research and promotion activities. Why it matters: Imported pork benefits from domestic generic promotion […] Read more
Protein First hopes to bring the plant and animal protein sectors together, but so far only the poultry industry has expressed interest.
News

Soy sector seeks protein ceasefire

‘Rock’em, sock’em’ environment needs to stop, says U.S. soy leadership

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The United Soybean Board is pushing for a truce in the protein war. The group has launched Protein First, a collaborative effort to work with the meat sector on boosting global demand for all types of protein. USB chief executive officer Polly Ruhland said the introduction of plant-based meat alternatives has created […] Read more
If gasoline consumption falls by 15 to 20 per cent over the next two months it could reduce 2019-20 corn consumption by 120 to 170 million bushels, according to Todd Hubbs, assistant professor of agricultural commodity markets at the University of Illinois.
News

Biofuels expect hard hit with reduced travel

Gasoline consumption decline could mean lower corn prices

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Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – COVID-19 is expected to bring trouble to the biofuel sector and that is already depressing corn and other grain prices. “Biofuel producers are under desperate strain,” Emily Skor, chief executive officer of Growth Energy said in an email. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen before.” Why it matters: Ethanol has put a […] Read more
News

Yara executive touts fertilizer as greenhouse gas solution

Company believes more efficient production will avoid destroying forests for extra cropland, but other groups disagree

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Fertilizer companies can do more good than bad when it comes to combatting greenhouse gases, according to Yara’s chief executive officer. Svein Tore Holsether said agriculture is responsible for one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. “On the one hand, that is a big challenge, but it is also a very big opportunity,” he told analysts […] Read more
Soybean exports to China have plummeted to 2.5 per cent of normal since Canada arrested a Chinese business executive in 2018.
News

Soybean growers feel abandoned by Ottawa

Sector accuses the federal government of focusing on canola, beef and pork while turning a blind eye to soybeans

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Ron Davidson was outraged when he read Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mandate letter to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. The prime minister had issued a series of mandate letters on Dec. 13 that serve as the marching orders for the ministers in his newly elected government. Bibeau’s letter told her to “develop additional […] Read more

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