Reading Time: < 1 minute Paris | Reuters — Louis Dreyfus Co., (LDC), one of the world’s largest agricultural commodity merchants, has suspended its operations in Russia, it said on Friday. LDC did not provide further details in an emailed response to a question about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on its activities. Like other crop traders, it […] Read more

Louis Dreyfus suspends operations in Russia

Tim Hortons, Burger King parent to hike prices
BK pulling Whopper off discount menu
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International said on Tuesday that it stripped its most famous sandwich, the Whopper, from discount menus and will raise menu prices again this year as to offset higher costs. U.S.-listed shares of the company rose more than three per cent after it topped results estimates for the fourth […] Read more

More government action likely as border blockades hit trade
Manitoba's main crossing now also blocked
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The shutdown of a vital U.S.-Canada trade route is knocking out automakers’ operations as the business impact from the two-week-old protests against Canada’s pandemic measures ramp up pressure on authorities to quell the demonstrations. The protests started as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying downtown Ottawa, opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by […] Read more

ADM releases alternative protein outlook for 2022
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Major U.S. agribusiness ADM released a report Tuesday identifying the seven biggest trends in the alternative protein market, ranging from creating new protein sources from fungi to making plant-based meat substitutes more affordable and palatable to the general public. The seven trends in the report were: introduction of novel protein sources, using microbial […] Read more

Drought conditions ease slightly across Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Mixed precipitation throughout January helped drought conditions improve across much of the Canadian Prairies during the month, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Tuesday. Conditions have deteriorated in some areas, however, and the majority of Western Canada was still in some kind of drought state. […] Read more

Pandemic protestors block Windsor border crossing
Commercial traffic being diverted to Sarnia
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The busiest land crossing between the U.S. and Canada was jammed on Tuesday after Canadian protestors blocked lanes on Monday over their government’s pandemic control measures. While traffic in both directions was initially blocked, U.S.-bound lanes have since reopened, Windsor Police tweeted. Drivers demanding an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates […] Read more

Prizes put up to develop year-round berry production in Canada
Weston Foundation's new challenge backed with $33 million
Reading Time: 3 minutes A philanthropic foundation focused on improving public health now wants to improve diets by finding ways to juice up Canada’s home-grown fruit supplies. The Weston Family Foundation on Tuesday pledged $33 million over six years for what it calls the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a prize challenge pitting ideas against ideas with the goal of extending […] Read more

Greek farmers stage tractor protest against soaring energy costs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Larissa | Reuters — Farmers in central Greece on Friday protested with hundreds of tractors against soaring energy costs, dismissing government support measures as inadequate and demanding more help to cope with rising prices. The farmers parked tractors on a national highway near the town of Larissa in central Greece, where they faced off with […] Read more

Canada rules out use of troops against truck blockade
More protests planned
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government will not use troops against protestors whose nearly week-long demonstration against coronavirus vaccine mandates has brought traffic in central Ottawa to a halt, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. More than 200 trucks and other vehicles have been blockading downtown roads in the nation’s capital since last Friday […] Read more

Quebec leads indoor urban agriculture trend
Guide Canada: LEDs plus cheap electricity opens new opportunities
Reading Time: 7 minutes Quebec is already a leader in urban agriculture. It has many small urban farms and a number of community-led rooftop gardens, and is home to the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse operation, Lufa Farms, which recently expanded into a new 163,000-square-foot greenhouse atop a former Sears warehouse in the St-Laurent area of Montreal. The Quebec […] Read more