Winnipeg | Reuters – Canadian farmers are likely to reap a smaller canola crop in 2019-20 due to reduced plantings and dry conditions, consultancy FarmLink Marketing Solutions said on Thursday after a crop tour of the prairie provinces. The Grain World tour on Tuesday and Wednesday, organized by FarmLink, visited fields in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to observe […] Read more

Canada crop tour sees smaller canola crop after reduced plantings, dry spring

Nutrien sees big corn comeback in 2020, following U.S. floods
Winnipeg | Reuters – Fertilizer producer and farm supply dealer Nutrien Ltd expects U.S. farmers to plant as many as 95 million acres (38.5 million hectares) of corn next year, the most in seven years, after a frustrating year of floods, its chief executive said. The wet conditions left millions of acres unplanted across the […] Read more

Cargill shuts China feed mills as swine fever spreads
Chicago | Reuters — Cargill shuttered animal-feed mills in China in recent months partly because the rapid spread of a fatal hog disease has reduced demand, a company executive said Friday. The closures highlight the pain for global agriculture companies from the outbreak of African swine fever in China, the world’s top hog producer and […] Read more

Canada proposes China meat export solution
Reuters — Canada offered a plan to reassure China about the security of its meat export system, a Canadian minister said on Wednesday, as Ottawa rejected Chinese criticism of its efforts to enlist allies to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the countries. China said last week it wanted the Canadian government to stop allowing meat […] Read more

China’s shutout of Canadian meat scrambles global pork flow
Winnipeg | Reuters — China’s decision to block imports of Canadian meat has set off a global chain reaction in pork trading but it will do little to curb overall demand as a disease ravaging the Chinese hog herd elevates prices, industry experts say. China said on Tuesday it wants the Canadian government to temporarily […] Read more

China halts Canadian meat shipments over bogus documents
Ottawa | Reuters — China said Tuesday it will turn away all meat shipped from Canada, just days before China and the United States sit down to work on settling a trade dispute that has also caught Canada in the crossfire. China launched an investigation after inspections found residues of ractopamine, a feed additive not […] Read more

Rain gives farmers relief, for now, from three-year drought
Winnipeg | Reuters — With drought turning Chad Ross’s pastures brown, the southeastern Saskatchewan rancher sent 140 head of cattle to slaughter earlier than usual this spring, as the Prairies’ three-year drought made them too expensive to feed. The ranch and feedlot near Estevan has lost money two straight years. Long-awaited rains that swept the […] Read more

China, drought, debt shake Canadian farm finances
Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — For years, the financial stability of Canadian farmers was the envy of their U.S. counterparts, but rising costs, drought and a dispute with China have weakened their bottom lines. Net incomes plunged last year, and that setback was followed in March by China’s halting purchases of canola, Canada’s biggest crop. Now […] Read more

Ottawa expands insurance for canola exporters amid China dispute
Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Ottawa increased the insurance coverage available for canola exporters, a government corporation said on Thursday, as it seeks to reduce trade risks amid a dispute with China. China halted purchases of Canadian canola in March, citing pests in shipments by Richardson International and Viterra. That move, which came as Beijing has […] Read more

Canadian wheat sales to China hit 14-year high despite dispute
Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Canada has shipped the most wheat to China in 14 years, contrasting a sudden halt in canola trade amid a diplomatic dispute between the countries, as Chinese buyers shunned the United States. China bought 1.5 million tonnes of wheat from Canada from August 2018 through April 2019, nearly double the pace […] Read more