The immediate impact of finding a BSE-positive cow in Alberta in 2003 was swift and brutal. Overnight, Canada's export market evaporated and prices for cattle, especially older animals, tanked. As we look back on the decades that have followed, the longer-lasting impacts have been monumental, but not necessarily as clear. To dive in to what... Read More

Tucked into the Ontario Progressive Conservatives' Bill 97 is a proposed change to severance allowances of farmland that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) says could make siting of livestock farms much more difficulty. What's more, the bill carves out increased power for Ministerial Zoning Orders in the name of housing; however, Peggy Brekveld, president... Read More

The Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukrainian grain exports to continue has been extended by two months, a day before the agreement with Russia was set to expire. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan announced Russia had agreed to the extension early Wednesday, sending grain futures markets lower as the second consecutive 60-day extension allayed concerns... Read More

Across Ontario, a stretch of dry weather has helped pushed corn planting past 80 per cent complete in many areas. "Things are rolling right along," reports RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. In his area of southwestern Ontario, "corn is wrapping up and growers are rolling hard into soybeans," he told a Tuesday morning virtual agribusiness breakfast... Read More

Sevita Genetics has received regulatory approval for Alinova, a non-GMO, high-oleic soybean variety, a food-grade soybean industry first for Canada. The variety, available for planting this growing season, is also tolerant to soybean cyst nematode, says Sevita. It is a mid- to late-season variety suitable for Ontario and Quebec growing conditions. Sevita says high-oleic soybean... Read More

The University of Guelph's Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) within the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) has announced a $1-million research chair. The Arrell Family Chair in Behavioural and Experimental Economics will support students and seed projects and enable the hiring of a lab manager for a growing research lab. The new chair... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report on Friday. Wheat futures rose between 10 and 30 cents following the report, with the global wheat outlook for 2023/24 featuring lower supplies, trade, consumption, and ending stocks compared with 2022/23. Global production is forecast at a record... Read More