A view of the “Bridge of No Return” from the South Korean side of the DMZ between North and South Korea. (Bob Hilscher/iStock/Getty Images)

North Korea’s Kim demands more farmland to boost food production

Seoul | Reuters — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up […] Read more

An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia, U.S. bicker at UN over donating fertilizer to Syria

U.S. calls for Russia to distribute via UN

United Nations | Reuters — Russia and the United States bickered on Tuesday over whether Russian fertilizer could be donated to Syria as Moscow heightens complaints about obstacles to its fertilizer shipments before the renewal of a deal allowing Ukraine Black Sea grain exports. Some 260,000 tonnes of Russian fertilizer has been stuck in several […] Read more


(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Sollio books deeper loss for 2022

Olymel's fresh pork business takes biggest hit

Domestic and international market-moving events have dragged hard on the year-end bottom line for Sollio Cooperative Group, particularly in its fresh pork business. Quebec-based Sollio — which operates the ag input and farm service business Sollio Agriculture, meat packer Olymel and hardware retailer BMR — on Thursday reported full-year revenues of $8.876 billion for its […] Read more



A handful of soil health projects have secured funding for the next five years in the hope of kick starting soil health practices in the field. (Assiniboine Community College photo)

Multi-million-dollar fund greenlights soil health projects

Eight projects to push soil health practices will get funding for the next five years

Eight soil health projects across Canada will be getting a multi-million-dollar boost in private funding over the next five years. The Weston Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Weston business empire — has slated $10 million for those eight projects through the organization’s soil health initiative, it was announced Feb. 13. The initiative […] Read more

Nutrien’s head office building in Saskatoon. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Nutrien misses profit estimates amid higher fertilizer prices

CF Industries also books lower sales

Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien on Wednesday forecast lower-than-expected 2023 earnings and posted fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, sending shares down 2.6 per cent in extended trading. While higher fertilizer prices dented demand in early second-half of last year, a fall in prices later in the year did not boost demand as farmers […] Read more


Cargo ship Despina V, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 2, 2022.  (Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Russia says sanctions a barrier to Black Sea grain deal renewal

Reuters — Russia said Monday it would be “inappropriate” to extend the Black Sea grain deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted and other issues are resolved. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, created a safe corridor to allow grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports blockaded […] Read more

Stefanie Beck (DND photo) and Dr. Harpreet Kochhar (Uoguelph.ca).

Feds appoint new deputy ag minister, CFIA chief

Eleven senior civil servants shuffled

Canada’s government has lined up a new federal deputy minister for agriculture and a new president for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, both to take office later this month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a shuffle in the top ranks of the public service involving 11 senior managers following four recent retirements. Associate […] Read more


A view of BHP’s potash mine project north of Jansen, Sask. (BHP.com)

Feds back BHP potash mine for sustainable tech

Fund to provide $100M for electrifying equipment

Major miner BHP’s potash mine-in-progress in Saskatchewan has picked up $100 million in federal funding to go toward investments in low-emissions equipment. Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Monday announced BHP’s Saskatoon-based Canadian arm will get backing from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) for the mine at Jansen, Sask., about […] Read more

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari speaks at the Dakar summit under the theme “Nourrir l’Afrique” (Feed Africa) hosted by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission on Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Ngouda Dione)

Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa

Continent facing record-level hunger

Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more