Reading Time: 2 minutes The number of Canadian organic producers and processors fell by nearly 300 in 2022 according to the latest industry stats. “There’s people coming in and there’s people going out,” said Tia Loftsgard, executive director of the Canadian Organic Trade Association (COTA).
Organic operators down, acreage up: new industry stats
Total organic sales in 2022 was $10.26, billion up from $9.35 billion in 2021
Agritechnica update: Give a big shock to weeds
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers are being pushed to find an alternative to desiccants to burn down crops, as companies are increasingly leery of herbicides approved close to harvest. People have been shocking weeds with electricity for 100 years, but the return on the electricity invested and the technology required to do so safely haven’t always worked. Crop.zone is […] Read more
Smucker to shed Bick’s brand
Pickle brand, other Canadian condiments to go to TreeHouse
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. food firm J.M. Smucker has a deal in place to sell off the Canadian pickle brand Bick’s and a portfolio of condiment brands it makes for the Canadian market. Ohio-based Smucker announced Oct. 17 it will sell the Bick’s brand plus the Habitant pickled beets, Woodman’s horseradish and McLarens pickled onions brands to Illinois […] Read more
Senate votes down C-234 amendments
Changes would have pulled barn and greenhouse heating from carbon price exemptions
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Senate voted today to reject amendments that would have seen barn and greenhouse heating removed from Bill C-234. In a sitting on the afternoon of Nov. 7, senators voted no to the adoption of amendments made by the committee for agriculture and forestry. Twenty-eight voted yes, and four abstained. The Senate then voted to […] Read more
Robots may help grain farmers diversify
Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Arctic high slowly moving out
Issued Oct. 25, covering Oct. 25 to Nov. 1
Reading Time: 3 minutes As is often the case at this time of the year, the weather models got the general picture right, but the finer details were much to be desired. Usually, the models struggle with the forecast beyond two to five days out, but for much of this forecast period they struggled with the finer details on […] Read more
Senate committee pulls barn, greenhouse heating from carbon exemption bill
Groups expressed disappointment over the amendment, which will also slow the bill’s progress
Reading Time: 3 minutes Groups expressed disappointment over an amendment to Bill C-234, which will not only remove barn and greenhouse heating from a proposed exemption from the carbon price but will also delay the bill’s progress.
Former ag minister returns in new Manitoba cabinet
Kinew names Kostyshyn to ag portfolio
Reading Time: 2 minutes Incoming Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has brought a former provincial agriculture minister back to the cabinet table to handle the ag file. Ron Kostyshyn, who from 2012 to 2016 was then-premier Greg Selinger’s ag minister while serving as MLA for the northwestern riding of Swan River, was sworn in Wednesday as minister of agriculture in […] Read more
Major U.S. peach producer files for bankruptcy to pursue sale
Setbacks have included salmonella, fires, heavy debts
Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters — Prima, a private-equity backed farmer that is the largest producer of peaches and other stone fruit in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Friday. The company, owned by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, has about $679 million in debt, and plans to sell its […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Sprawling high to bring dry, seasonably warm weather
Issued Oct. 11, covering Oct. 11-17
Reading Time: 3 minutes For the first time in a while, the last forecast period did not play out exactly as the weather models predicted, thanks mostly to a strong area of low pressure that moved westwards from the Atlantic into central Ontario last weekend and into the first half of this week. While the low didn’t impact the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
