Reading Time: 2 minutes The potential for higher interest rates is the darkest cloud shading recent news that farm debt in Canada recorded the smallest increase in six years, according to Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) chief economist. Statistics Canada data showed outstanding Canadian farm debt increased by 5.9 per cent to $121.9 billion as producers invested in land, buildings and equipment. […] Read more
Business
Farm debt under control, but watch for higher interest rates
Editorial: Inflation worries
Gen Xers have enjoyed the stability the economic system has given them
Reading Time: 3 minutes I’ve been lucky to have spent most of my adult life in very stable economic times. Interest rates have been low and steady. Global trade and economic growth have been measured and predictable. Governments mostly spent within their means. Then the pandemic roiled trading systems, supply chains and supply and demand and that’s made me […] Read more
Agriculture workplaces grapple with change
Flexible hybrid work options and managing a return to face-to-face interactions top the trends
Reading Time: 4 minutes A worldwide pandemic, technology and the ability to adapt on the fly have catapulted agriculture-based business into a new hybrid dimension that will likely continue. In rapid succession, the agriculture workplace landscape morphed from a hands-on, in-person machine to one of virtual meetings, touchless billing and payment systems and greater demand for accessible and reliable […] Read more
Ag tech accelerators form alliance
RH Acclerator and OAFT will share resources to support early-stage companies
Reading Time: 2 minutes RH Accelerator Inc. and OAFT, (Ontario Agri-Food Technologies) have formed a strategic alliance to help early stage companies in agriculture and food get ahead. Ontario Agri-Food Technologies has been in operation for 23 years, based in Guelph. RH Accelerator was created last year in London, Ont. and has brought together experts inside and outside of […] Read more
Farmers tracking personal information after computer breach
Computer hackers have increased their activity during the COVID-19 pandemic
Reading Time: 2 minutes A recent computer system breach at an Ontario crop inputs company resulted in the posting for sale of private information of farmers. Parts of the Agromart Group’s computer system were breached and locked in late May by the Revil hacker group. Agromart refused to pay a ransom and the hackers then decided to auction off […] Read more
Neil Currie now working with Bioenterprise
Organization looking for COVID-19 solutions to fund in agri-food
Reading Time: < 1 minute Neil Currie has joined Bioenterprise. The former general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture recently joined Bioenterprise Corporation, the organization that funds agriculture and food innovation and technology. Bioenterprise said in a release that the addition of Currie is in line with its objective to increase its presence and visibility with production agriculture and […] Read more
Tight supply chains pose food system risks with virus
Lack of redundancies in meat production system could post challenges
Reading Time: 3 minutes A lack of redundancies in agri-food system supply chains means there are risks for farmers from a disruption like that caused by COVID-19. Farm Credit Canada chief agricultural economist J.P. Gervais and Guelph-based economic researcher Al Mussell say, however, that the government knows how important food is to Canadians and will find ways to assure […] Read more
U.S. farmers fret as Chinese soy purchases move elsewhere
Strange trade flows — U.S. beans to Argentina, Argentine beans to China, Argentine beef to the U.S.
Reading Time: 5 minutes Reuters – A ship named the Torrent recently reached the end of a 5,000-mile trip carrying soybeans from the U.S. Great Lakes to Argentina — a journey that only makes economic sense because of the U.S.-China trade war. The ship docked in the Rosario grains hub on Dec. 4, days after the leaders of the […] Read more
Lower oil prices and declines in equities spill over into grain commodities
However, a softer loonie is helping enhance the competitiveness of Canadian grain and oilseed on global markets
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ontario farmers have harvested approximately 90 per cent of the soybeans and 75 per cent of the corn. Soybean yields have come in above expectations; some farmers reported record yields. Corn yields are quite variable and vomitoxin is a major problem in certain areas. The year-over-year increase in export demand continues to support Ontario corn […] Read more
Weather makes for different corn harvest conditions in Ontario and the U.S.
American farmers are close to finished corn harvest, compared to Ontario farmers waiting for clearer weather
Reading Time: 5 minutes Adverse rains have hindered harvest progress across Ontario. Farmers have harvested approximately 75 per cent of the soybeans and 25 per cent of the corn. Yield reports are slightly higher than expected and total production will likely finish above the recent Statistics Canada estimates. Vomitoxin appears to be quite prevalent on the early corn samples […] Read more
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