File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Rising protein demand expected in 2020

Canada able to serve both plant- and animal-based protein markets

MarketsFarm — Demand for plant- and animal-based proteins alike is likely to increase in the coming year. Since 2017, pea protein demand increased by about 13 per cent, Craig Klemmer, chief agriculture economist at Farm Credit Canada, said at Ag Days in Brandon, Man. Over the same time period, demand for canola protein increased by […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. farmers expected to get third and final tranche of trade aid

Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he expected the federal government to pay farmers a third and final tranche of 2019 trade aid a day after an initial deal with China was signed, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Washington and Beijing signed the Phase One pact on Wednesday, setting trade tensions between […] Read more



CME February 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures rebound

Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) closed higher on Tuesday, bouncing a day after falling to a one-month low as traders adjusted positions ahead of Wednesday’s planned signing of a U.S.-China trade agreement, brokers said. “The choppy trade continues. There is clearly some nervousness associated with what is […] Read more


A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

VIDO-InterVac joins swine fever fight

The University of Saskatchewan’s vaccine research and development arm is set to become Canada’s first non-government agency to work with the African swine fever virus. Saskatoon-based Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) will start work with the virus this month at its Containment Level 3-Agriculture (CL3-Ag) facility, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said […] Read more

File photo of a hog farmer with piglets in Poland. (Zuberka/iStock/Getty Images)

African swine fever spreads near German border

Paris | Reuters — Poland recorded 55 outbreaks of African swine fever in wild boar near the German border last month, the world animal health body said on Thursday, in a sign the deadly virus is spreading near one of the European Union’s biggest pork exporters. A report posted on the World Organization for Animal […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Amended CUSMA pact includes anti-COOL clause

The new Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), a free trade deal set to replace NAFTA, includes language meant to block any future bids at a trade-disrupting country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. The new clause would, in theory, checkmate a move made last summer by some Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives to have a new North […] Read more



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 11, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Farmers hit by trade disputes should be helped faster, Trudeau says

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s agriculture department should move more quickly to help farmers harmed by protectionist measures imposed by other nations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Canadian farmers are caught up in a trade and diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing. In a formal letter of instruction to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Trudeau […] Read more