Farm and Food Care has taken urban dieticians and food influencers out to farms across the province with its annual bus tours. The organization recently went the other direction to the centre of the city, hosting an agriculture sustainability discussion at the Royal Ontario Museum that challenged conventional urban wisdom about beef production. Why it […] Read more
Tag Archives Business/Finance
Taking the sustainability discussion to the city
An event in Toronto’s centre emphasized the complexity of farm ecosystems
Argentinian politics may prompt soybean glut
Politics will continue to play a major role in grain markets in 2019-20 and this time some effect will come from Argentina
Glacier FarmMedia – Argentina’s recent election results could have a profound impact on corn, soybean and wheat markets, said an analyst who closely follows South America’s grain and oilseed sector. Incumbent Mauricio Macri is on his way out, and the new president will be Alberto Fernandez. Not much is known about Fernandez, who was a […] Read more
Direct negotiations coming to processing tomatoes and carrots
Growers can also vote to negotiate as a group by secret ballot with individual processors
Ontario is opening up the processing tomato and carrot market to direct negotiations with processors, but is also leaving open the possibility of collective negotiation with individual processors. Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released a letter Dec. 11 informing growers of the decision. Why it matters: The decision will reduce […] Read more
Sustainable agriculture organization expands to Canada
Field to Market brings together nearly 140 member organizations
Field to Market, an organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture, recently announced its expansion into Canada. Stakeholders have access to a streamlined approach to conduct continuous improvement projects, strengthening the ability for companies to meet their sustainable sourcing objectives and science-based targets. Field to Market brings together nearly 140 member organizations. It has developed a science-driven […] Read more
Ontario winter wheat acres likely to hit one million
Soybean exports look to be increasing from Canada
As of Nov. 19, we estimate that Ontario farmers have harvested 93 per cent of soybeans and 50 to 60 per cent of corn. It’s hard to assess the corn progress given the recent weather. Ontario received 150 to 200 per cent of normal precipitation over the past 30 days. Many farmers are coming to […] Read more
Smithfield looks through whole supply chain to limit carbon impact
Manure remains the largest impact on carbon for the worldwide swine production company
Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest producer and processor of hogs, has a significant plan to reduce carbon emissions from its operations. The company has set a goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 in its United States operations. Why it matters: Farmers are increasingly under pressure to reduce carbon emissions. […] Read more
Agri-food tech female leaders struggle to attract investment – report
Although women receive less capital than men, their businesses end up delivering far higher revenue — more than twice as much per dollar invested
Thomson Reuters Foundation – Female entrepreneurs in the food and agricultural technology industry received a tiny fraction of the $16.9 billion investment deals secured worldwide in 2018, a new report a recently released report says. Called “Money where our mouths are,” it is the first-ever study to document funding inequality for women trying to pave […] Read more
How the government is taxing income-splitting
What farm businesses need to know heading into year-end
In 2017, the federal government proposed changes to its tax on split income (TOSI). Since then, due in part to opposition by farmers and farm groups, those changes evolved. Now, after coming into effect for the 2018 tax year, financial advisers have more concrete knowledge of how TOSI actually applies. Why it matters: Tax on […] Read more
New trade order called bad news for Canada
A new report says Canada and its farmers aren’t equipped to deal with a move away from the ‘liberal world order’
Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers face a starkly worsened long-term world market for their crops and livestock, fears a Canadian agricultural economics analysis firm. And that means many basic assumptions of how farm markets and prices behave might have to be radically reconsidered. “Some of the assumptions of the liberal world order — price arbitrage and […] Read more
Benchmarketing projects aim to improve available farm data
Canadian and global numbers can help compare Ontario to other jurisdictions
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs is engaged in two benchmarking initiatives which aim to improve the quality of information comparing Ontario farms. Why it matters: Benchmarking can be an important tool to help farmers gauge costs and evaluate management practices. The new OMAFRA program involves working with the Ontario Farm Income […] Read more
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