U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington on June 18. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)

Trump’s tariff war threatens to erode support of farmers

Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump’s tariff battle with key buyers of U.S. apples, soybeans and corn threatens the support of some of his biggest backers — U.S. farmers now seeing their livelihoods in jeopardy. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2016 election, welcoming how he championed rural economies and vowed to repeal estate […] Read more


Soy Canada representatives told Japanese buyers they need to purchase more higher-yielding non-GM soybeans to encourage farmers to grow them.  Photo: John Greig

Soy drinks drive Taiwan IP-soybean imports

Canada is now the leading supplier to the country

Canada’s exports to Taiwan continue to increase to a 60 per cent market share in non-genetically modified (GM) soybeans in 2017. Exports of non-GM and commodity soybeans increased 416 per cent from 2012 to 2017, totaling 46,000 tonnes. Taiwan’s market is still dwarfed by Canada’s export of soybeans to Japan, which last year totaled 340,000 […] Read more

Jim Clark is the executive director of the Ontario Cattle Feeder’s Association and Ontario Corn Fed Beef.  Photo: John Greig

Corn Fed Beef program looks to growing Asia market

The Ontario Corn Fed Beef program continues to expand, now accounting almost all of the branded beef exported from the province. Why it matters: Branded beef programs continue to grow and the Ontario Corn Fed Beef (OCFB) program is now the most valuable branded beef program in Canada. In order for it to continue to […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

Surprise Indian duty on peas leaves Canada scrambling

Winnipeg | CNS – The Canadian pea industry was shocked Wednesday morning to wake up to a notice from India declaring a 50 per cent tax on pea imports to the country. “This sort of moves us beyond even where India has been before in pulse import duties … more than a decade ago we […] Read more


The Mississippi River. (Mark D. Tomer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Soaring river freight hits U.S. farmers

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers are running out of options for their just-harvested corn and soybeans as delays on the Mississippi River, the main conduit for crops to export markets, cause shipping backlogs, while grain storage on the river’s banks is filling up. Low river levels and backups at aging locks have slowed navigation […] Read more

The Big River Resources ethanol plant at West Burlington, Iowa, about 120 km southwest of Davenport. (Steven Vaughn photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. ethanol expected to be competitive in 2017

San Diego | CNS Canada –– Weaker commodity prices and less international competition are expected to lend demand and profitability to the U.S. ethanol market in 2017, one analyst says. But changing political and policy environments — in the U.S. and abroad — add an element of uncertainty to the market, and the potential to […] Read more