Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China plans to delay a deadline for implementing new food import regulations by two years until October 2019, a senior EU official said on Tuesday, following a lobbying effort by Europe and the U.S. amid concerns about disruption to trade. The extension comes just days before the new rules, which are […] Read more
China delays deadline for implementing food import rules
Philippines’ Jollibee eyes deals to grow
Reading Time: 3 minutes Manila/Singapore | Reuters — Filipino billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong, who has built Jollibee Foods Corp. into a near-4,000 store purveyor of sweet-style spaghetti, burgers and fried chicken, is looking to buy existing brands in mature markets to help fuel future growth. Dominant at home, where Jollibee has 1,000 eponymous stores welcoming diners with its smiling […] Read more
Alberta, feds back Lethbridge potato processing plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal and Alberta governments are set to cover over $22 million in costs related to the construction of Cavendish Farms’ new potato processing plant at Lethbridge. The two levels of government on Monday announced $20 million for the City of Lethbridge for related municipal infrastructure developments, through the federal/provincial Clean Water and Wastewater Fund […] Read more
The case for managing magnesium
Like sulphur, Mg is moving into the foreground
Reading Time: 4 minutes No one is taking anything away from “The Big Three.” Clearly, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P and K) have a direct and powerful influence on yield, and must be managed with great skill. Increasingly, though, we’re learning that secondary nutrients and micronutrients are also worth paying attention to. In 2016, for instance, agronomists began […] Read more
Canada’s soils still degrading, albeit more slowly
Reading Time: 4 minutes The rate of degradation of soils in Canada has slowed, but it still is happening at a significant rate and there is still a lot to learn. There are no soil-perfect systems yet for crop production, attendees at the Summit on Canadian Soil Health held recently in Guelph heard repeatedly. No-till farming has declined in […] Read more
Farmers to deal with stronger loonie for rest of 2017
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Higher interest rates and a stronger Canadian dollar relative to U.S. currency is giving Canadian farmers a double whammy. According to Farm Credit Canada’s chief agricultural economist, it’s also a situation farmers will likely have to deal with for at least the remainder of the year. J.P. Gervais said he thinks farmers […] Read more
New Brunswick splits agriculture, aquaculture files
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ministerial oversight of agriculture and aquaculture will be split between two cabinet ministers in New Brunswick following a shuffle Tuesday. Premier Brian Gallant on Tuesday named Carleton-Victoria MLA Andrew Harvey as the new minister of agriculture, mines and rural affairs. Saint John-area MLA Rick Doucet, who until now also handled the ag file, remains as […] Read more
Koch to seek Saskatchewan Party leadership
Reading Time: 2 minutes A long-time Prairie agriculture policy player who last year became Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s seniormost bureaucrat has joined the race to replace him. Alanna Koch, who farms with her husband at Edenwold, Sask., about 40 km northeast of Regina, announced her candidacy Monday for the leadership of the province’s governing Saskatchewan Party. Koch was the […] Read more
U.S. takes tough lines as NAFTA negotiations begin
Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States drew a hard line for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday, demanding major concessions aimed at slashing U.S. trade deficits with Mexico and Canada and boosting U.S. content for autos. At the start of talks in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, Robert […] Read more
Aerial crop sprayers grounded in Western Canada
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Aerial crop sprayers are spending more time on the ground than in the air in Western Canada this season, with hot and dry weather limiting disease pressures and changing the economic threshold for insect applications. “The crops came out of the ground very aggressively and good, but there was a prolonged hot […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
