Ultraviolet light is widely used in food sanitation because it can be tuned to inactivate microbes without damaging food, such as the fresh cucumber in this test.

UV light holds grain decontamination potential

Researchers want to build pilot-scale UV sanitation unit to test stored grain

Glacier FarmMedia – Tatiana Koutchma foresees a slew of new applications for ultraviolet sanitation, whether it’s helping to keep meat packing lines free of SARS-CoV-2 or knocking fusarium fungus out of grain. “Before we only had lamps as a source of UV light,” she said. “Now, we have LEDs. They are small, flexible and their […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Hot, dry weather creates ‘significant uncertainty,’ AAFC says

MarketsFarm — Supply/demand balance sheets for Canada’s major crops only saw minor adjustments in the latest update Tuesday from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with hot and dry growing conditions leading to “significant uncertainty” on the state of the country’s 2021-22 crops. Total field crop production in the country was forecast to decrease due to a […] Read more

Fumonisin mycotoxins infect broken or cracked corn kernels, although it mostly happens in southern climates and isn’t as big of an issue in Canada yet.

Accidental discovery could be a mycotoxin game-changer

AAFC scientists discovered an enzyme that converts fumonisin mycotoxins into a non-toxic form

An enzyme that makes some mycotoxins less deadly has been discovered by a team of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists at the London Research and Development Centre in London, Ont. Why it matters: Mycotoxin contamination in crops can have a huge economic impact for farmers and biofuel producers, and ingestion by humans or livestock […] Read more

Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, is most at risk from phosphorus loading.

Living Lab project to energize knowledge transfer

AAFC initiative pushes for greater validation and faster adoption of environmental farm practices

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is pushing to increase the adoption of environmentally friendly growing practices by farmers in Ontario’s Lake Erie region. Adding to similar initiatives in the eastern Prairies, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, the $4.2 million Living Lab — Ontario initiative intends to bring the sector together to develop, test and share innovative […] Read more

The federal government’s offer would increase the cost of the program, make it easier to access while also increasing the size of payouts to farmers.

Opinion: Prairie provinces not warming up to AgriStability changes

Public pressure is building on provinces still resisting federal changes to AgriStability, notably Manitoba and Saskatchewan. But there are no signs the strategy is working. Meanwhile, the federal government and those provinces in favour of the changes, hope the proposals will be accepted soon. At a Nov. 27 online meeting with her provincial and territorial […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Canola stocks to tighten below a million tonnes, AAFC says

MarketsFarm — Canadian canola ending stocks in both the current 2020-21 marketing year and in 2021-22 are forecast to tighten below a million tonnes, according to updated supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The tight stocks were largely tied to expectations for increased domestic usage, with projected canola exports left unchanged from the January […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Feds predict three per cent increase in canola acres

Stocks nevertheless expected to tighten

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers will seed more canola in the upcoming 2021-22 crop year, but solid demand will still cause ending stocks to tighten, according to the first new-crop supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Monday. The department forecast seeded canola area in the spring of 2021 at 21.37 million acres, up […] Read more

The Crop Metrics program can be focused for each crop type.

New online tool provides yield estimates

Tool allows farmers to make appropriate alterations to crop care and marketing

A new web application is designed to provide farmers with more accurate yield forecasts. Crop Metrics is an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada app that allows farmers to get accurate data in one place for in-season crops. It is focused on 11 crops including corn, soybeans, canola, durum, spring and winter wheat. “(It) brings together numerous […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Crop stocks forecasts mostly unchanged in AAFC supply/demand report

Corn carryout revised upward

MarketsFarm — Updated crop supply/demand tables from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released Friday, included only minor changes from the previous month. Larger adjustments are expected after Statistics Canada releases its final production numbers for the year on Dec. 3. Canola and all-wheat ending stocks for the 2020-21 marketing year were both left unchanged at 2.25 […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Canada’s wheat ending stocks projections raised

MarketsFarm — Canadian wheat ending stocks for the current 2020-21 marketing year are forecast to be larger than earlier expectations, according updated supply/demand estimates Thursday from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. All-wheat ending stocks for 2020-21 are now forecast at 6.3 million tonnes, which compares with the September estimate of 5.9 million. The total wheat carryout […] Read more