Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea prices rise amid tight supplies

Supplies still haven't recovered off 2021

MarketsFarm — Chickpea prices in Western Canada are on the rise due to tight supplies, according to one trader. Prices for Kabuli chickpeas rose five cents per pound from last month, with high-delivered bids ranging from 40 cents/lb. for the seven-millimetre variety to 55.5 cents/lb. for 10-mm, according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. In comparison to […] Read more


File photo of the produce section at a Canadian grocery store. (FatCamera/E+/Getty Images)

Competition Bureau to probe soaring food prices

Retail food prices seen outpacing inflation

Reuters — Canada’s competition watchdog said on Monday it would examine factors impacting soaring food prices and whether more competition in the grocery stores sector could help lower costs for Canadians. Price rises for store-bought food have been outpacing the broader annual inflation rate for 10 consecutive months, and grew 11.4 per cent in September, […] Read more

File photo of a CFIA vehicle. (Dave Bedard photo)

Avian flu circles back to Quebec

Saskatchewan's bird mingling ban held over

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu have returned to Quebec’s poultry sector after a lull of just over two months, while more Canadian cases continue to pile up at points west. Canada’s fall migratory season for wild birds appears to have led to the return of outbreaks in both commercial and backyard poultry flocks and […] Read more

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Thanksgiving in a time of bird flu

North America's poultry sector is embroiled in a fall surge of avian influenza, even as turkey demand hits one of its annual peaks

It’s the final stretch until Thanksgiving, but anyone hoping to bring their raw bird over the border may be disappointed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public that raw poultry, including turkey, from restricted areas of the U.S. will not be allowed past the international border due to the ongoing fight with […] Read more


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Quinoa production improves in 2022-23

Yields swing closer to average level

MarketsFarm — Compared to last year, Canada’s 2022-23 quinoa harvest has significantly improved, with yields exceeding expectations, according to Michael Dutcheshen of Saskatoon-based NorQuin. “Last year was a tough year for Canadian farmers for all crops, with quinoa no exception. This year is looking a lot more positive. We seem to have missed the hot […] Read more

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Pulse weekly outlook: Canada’s pea, lentil exports to rise while prices fall

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea and lentil exports should see considerable increases during the 2022-23 marketing year after drought cut into available supplies in 2021-22, according to the latest supply/demand production from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). However, total movement may still come in well below five-year averages. Canadian pea exports are forecast at 2.7 million […] Read more

Cannabis plants at a licensed indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada to review impact of cannabis legalization four years on

Review will also look at regulatory challenges in pot sector

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Thursday launched a review of the country’s legalization of recreational cannabis use four years ago to evaluate its impact on youth, Indigenous minorities and others, and analyze its effect on the economy and the illegal marijuana market. Canada became the first developed nation to legalize use of recreational marijuana […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu circles back in Western Canada

All western provinces book new cases in commercial birds

A relatively quiet summer for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada has turned for the worse, with outbreaks on commercial poultry farms in all four western provinces in the past week alone. Cases of high-path avian flu in domestic birds in Canada confirmed and reported by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency since Aug. 31 include: […] Read more

FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Canada can cut fertilizer emissions 14 per cent by 2030, industry groups say

Report touts use of 4R practices

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from applying nitrogen fertilizer by 14 per cent by 2030 through adoption of more sustainable farm practices and new technology, without any overall reduction in fertilizer use, agriculture industry groups said on Wednesday. Such reductions of nitrous oxide from 2020 levels would fall well […] Read more