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Grain groups find common ground over grading changes

In a rare move, the Wheat Growers and Farmers Union are on the same side of an issue

Two producer groups ordinarily at the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum have teamed up and come out swinging against proposed changes to wheat grading. The Wheat Growers Association (WGA) and National Farmers’ Union (NFU)have issued a joint statement decrying changes that will take effect August 1 which would see the export grade standard applied […] Read more

Real estate apps are already big business in residential markets. If they cut transaction costs, why not in agriculture too?
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U.S. Lawmakers seek to limit corporate, foreign ownership of farmland

Farm groups, lawmakers are concerned that foreign, investor ownership is driving up prices and threatening national security

Washington | Reuters – U.S. lawmakers from both parties are pushing legislation that would limit who can own American farmland, with a latest effort from Democratic Senator Cory Booker aimed at curbing corporate ownership. Farm groups and lawmakers are concerned that land buys by investors and foreign countries are driving up farmland prices and threatening […] Read more


Veteran minister and MP Lawrence Macaulay was appointed minister of agriculture and agri-food on July 26. Photo: Canada.ca

Bibeau out, MacAulay in as AAFC Minister 

Veteran P.E.I minister to take over Canada’s top ag role as Trudeau shuffles cabinet

Lawrence MacAulay will be replacing Marie-Claude Bibeau as Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. It will be his second turn in the role, having previously served between 2015 and 2019. The announcement came at a Wednesday swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall, where Prime Minister Trudeau’s anticipated cabinet re-shuffle was unveiled. MacAulay, who represents the […] Read more

An artist’s rendering of the Prairie Crops and Soils Research Facility at the University of Manitoba. Photo: University of Manitoba

Feds, Manitoba pledge $6.4M to ag research facility

The new facility will modernize crop and soil research and training at the University of Manitoba

The Federal and Manitoba governments have thrown their weight behind development of a facility touted to become Canada’s pre-eminent resource for field crop research. “A great deal of our agriculture industry’s success comes from research and skill development,” said federal ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau in a news release, Tuesday. Bibeau and Derek Johnson, Manitoba’s minister […] Read more


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EU looks to cover transport costs for Ukraine grain exports by land

About 60 per cent of Ukraine's exports were shipped via solidarity lanes when the Black Sea deal was in operation

Brussels | Reuters – The European Union is ready to export almost all of Ukraine’s farm produce via “solidarity lanes” and help cover costs after Russia withdrew from a U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal,  EU agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said on Tuesday. Solidarity lanes are rail and road transport connections through EU member states that […] Read more

A vessel is seen arriving at Odesa in southern Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on April 12, 2023. (Photo: Yulii Zozulia/Nurphoto via Reuters Connect)

Russia attacks Ukraine’s vital Danube grain export route

Ukrainian foreign minister calls for global response to 'food terrorism'

Kyiv | Reuters – Russia destroyed Ukrainian grain warehouses on the Danube River in a drone attack on Monday, targeting a vital export route for Kyiv in an expanding air campaign that Moscow began last week after pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal. Last week’s attacks mostly struck the sea ports of Odesa […] Read more


File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

Rain in China’s northeast brings relief for corn, drought risk remains

An oversupply of hogs, weak demand are pressuring pork prices

Beijing | Reuters – Recent rainfall in China’s northeastern breadbasket has relieved drought across most of the region, an agriculture ministry official said Friday, but risks remain with the El Nino weather pattern potentially bringing more extreme weather this summer. China is the world’s second-biggest corn producer and about 40 per cent of its crop […] Read more

File photo of Black Sea port facilities at Odesa, Ukraine. (Leskas/iStock/Getty Images)

Russian diplomat accuses Ukraine of using Black Sea grain corridor for attacks

Russia says it's negotiating exports of food to countries most in need

Moscow | Reuters – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday accused Ukraine of using a grain export corridor in the Black Sea to launch “terrorist attacks” against Russian interests, including one this week on the Crimean Bridge. Vershinin was addressing a briefing about Russia’s decision on Monday to quit the year-old Black Sea […] Read more