Reading Time: 15 minutes We always wanted to milk cows, but we never thought it would ever happen,” Kevin Conroy remembers. “The land prices in Ontario just went up and up and up.” Then, one day a decade ago, Kevin and wife Diana, who worked 103 acres in Ontario, were out for a Sunday drive and they saw a […] Read more

Farms from away!
They’re an eclectic bunch, these farmers rushing to Atlantic Canada for its affordable farmland. They’re dreamers, yet they’re realists too, and they’ve all got success in mind

Haiti gang blockade causing catastrophic hunger, U.N. says
Situation "close to breaking point," WFP rep says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Miami | Reuters — Haitians are experiencing catastrophic hunger because of gangsters blockading a major fuel terminal, U.N. officials said on Friday, with more than four million facing acute food insecurity. A coalition of gangs has prevented the distribution of diesel and gasoline for over a month to protest a plan to cut fuel subsidies. […] Read more

Drought-stricken B.C. bracing for floods when rains return
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — British Columbia on Thursday warned residents to prepare for flooding when rains eventually return after a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change that has raised concerns about long-term damage to ecosystems ranging from glaciers to salmon rivers. The usually rainy western province has experienced weeks of record-breaking warm fall temperatures and minimal precipitation […] Read more

Barlow remains ag critic in Conservatives’ new shadow cabinet
Poilievre also names two associate critics for ag file
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal Conservatives’ point person on agriculture will remain at that post under the party’s new leader. John Barlow, MP for the southwestern Alberta riding of Foothills, was named Wednesday as the Conservatives’ “shadow minister” for agriculture, agri-food and food security. Pierre Poilievre, who was named Sept. 10 as the official opposition party’s new leader, […] Read more

Manitoba’s harvest 79 per cent complete, report says
Cereal harvest wrapped in most areas
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Harvest operations across Manitoba were 79 per cent complete as of Tuesday, according to the latest crop report from the provincial agriculture department. That figure was up from 63 per cent the previous week, but two weeks off the five-year average of 89 per cent. Harvest progress was the most advanced in central […] Read more

Quebec ag minister cruises to re-election
Legault's CAQ scores bigger second majority
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s incumbent agriculture, food and fisheries minister will be returning to the province’s legislature as part of an even larger government caucus. Preliminary results in Monday’s provincial election put Francois Legault’s Coalition avenir Quebec (CAQ) in a solid majority government position with 90 of 125 seats, followed by Dominique Anglade’s Liberals, remaining in official opposition […] Read more

Meatpacker JBS to close U.S. plant-based foods business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacker JBS is closing its U.S. plant-based foods business, Planterra Foods, after about two years, the company said on Monday. The closure signals increasing troubles in the plant-based protein sector, where U.S. sales are flattening. Colorado-based Planterra sold fake meat under the Ozo brand, but JBS will now focus on […] Read more

Hurricane Ian to worsen bleak outlook for U.S. orange juice industry
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — Hurricane Ian is likely to have worsened what was already expected to be the smallest U.S. orange crop in 55 years after it blasted through a large fruit producing area when it passed through Florida this week, flooding farms and causing oranges to drop from trees. Precise information on losses […] Read more

Trudeau tours storm-hit Atlantic Canada as power outages persist
Flooding may hit P.E.I. potato crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Port aux Basques, N.L. | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday started a tour of Atlantic Canada, where thousands were still without power after record-setting storm Fiona ravaged the country’s east coast, tossing homes into the sea and killing at least three people. Fiona recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for a storm […] Read more

U.K. is asked to reconsider ag tariff in Trans-Pacific talks
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tokyo | Reuters — Japan, Australia and other members of a trans-Pacific trade pact have asked Britain to reconsider tariff conditions in its entry negotiation talks, Jiji news reported on Monday. Britain has opposed expanding the target of tariff-free items, particularly among agricultural products, to near 100 per cent as set by the Comprehensive and […] Read more