Fruit/Vegetables, Agriculture News & Resources

Signs of a recovery in the french-fry business

Potato Guide: While the rest of the agriculture sector nervously eyes the oil melt-down, the potato industry might actually be poised for a comeback

By Gord Gilmour July 8, 2015

Reading Time: 4 minutes Just one simple fact helps you understand the Canadian potato industry, and that’s just how big our crop is relative to domestic consumption. We Canucks consume just under 26 pounds of potatoes a year, but we produce about 10.2 billion pounds a year — 310 pounds for every man, woman and child in the country. […] Read more

Crops, Potatoes, Weather

Man. potato acres expected to top previous year’s

By Jade Markus June 16, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Manitoba’s potato acres are expected to be up from last year, despite some light reseeding, according to two people involved in the industry. Dan Sawatzky, manager with the Keystone Potato Producers Association, said most growers are ahead in terms of crop stage development so far this year. “I know in the process […] Read more

Canola, Corn, Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Reuters, Soybeans

U.S. FDA to cut trans fats from foods

By Ransdell Pierson, toni-clarke June 16, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/New York | Reuters –– The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday made good on its proposal to effectively ban artificial trans fats from a wide range of foods, from microwave popcorn to frozen pizza, saying they raise the risk of heart disease. Under new FDA regulations, partially hydrogenated oils, which have been shown […] Read more

Late blight has cost potato growers worldwide billions in damaged crops. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Potatoes

Soil bacteria may offer weapon against late blight in potatoes

By Lisa Guenther June 13, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Potato producers may soon have a new ally in their battle against late blight, and it’s right under their feet. Researchers have discovered bacterial strains in the soil that show promise as disease controls. Some bacteria suppress or inhibit late blight by over 90 per cent, according to an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) release. […] Read more

(Todd Rosenberg photo via KraftFoodsGroup.com)

Dairy Cattle, Fruit/Vegetables, General, Markets

Canadian, U.S. regulators clear Heinz and Kraft merger

By Country Guide Staff June 11, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Antitrust regulators in both Canada and the U.S. have fixed their seals of official inaction on ketchup giant H.J. Heinz’s play for control of Kraft Foods Group. Canada’s Competition Bureau has confirmed that it wrapped its review of the proposed deal and issued its “no action” letter to the companies on Wednesday. A “no action” […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Fruit/Vegetables, Grapes, Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Canada preparing shorter list of tariff targets in COOL fight

By Rod Nickel June 2, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is whittling down its list of U.S. products that it may hit with steep tariffs in retaliation against contentious meat-labeling laws, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday. The Canadian government is likely to target beef, pork, California wines, mattresses, cherries and office furniture, possibly along with other goods, from […] Read more

These golden nematode cysts, shown here on potato roots, are about a third to half a millimetre in diameter. (Xiaohong Wang photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Crops, Potatoes

Potato ‘fields’ clarified for cross-border trade

By Country Guide Staff May 22, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian and U.S. food inspectors have agreed on what they mean by a “field” in any restrictions they place on potato trade on account of potato cyst nematodes. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Tuesday announced new revisions to their Guidelines on Surveillance and Phytosanitary […] Read more

The McGregor family of Braeside, Ontario

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Succession strategy

One Ontario family’s joint path to farm succession

“Succession planning here is like hitting a moving target,” says Jim McGregor, but it’s also the family’s greatest opportunity

By Maggie Van Camp May 5, 2015

Reading Time: 8 minutes A mile from the Ottawa River, the McGregor family has lived and farmed, and they have loved and built for five generations, to the point where their produce business has mushroomed to 15 stands, a pick-your-own business and four farmers’ markets. Theirs is a story about embracing change, and about how, in the midst of […] Read more

McDonald’s in March launched a new “Welcome to McDonald’s” ad campaign in Canada, featuring the chain’s Canadian food suppliers, staff and customers. (Dave Bedard photo)

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Markets, Potatoes, Reuters

McDonald’s reset to change structure, cut costs, boost franchises

By Lisa Baertlein May 4, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp.’s new CEO said on Monday he would reorganize business units, sell restaurants to franchisees and cut costs in a bid to turn the fast-food chain into a “modern, progressive burger company.” The anticipated video announcement by CEO Steve Easterbrook left investors hungry for specific details on how the world’s biggest restaurant […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Reuters

Dow to sell AgroFresh for $860M in asset-sale drive

By Reuters April 30, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Dow Chemical said it would sell its AgroFresh unit, which makes chemicals that keep farm produce fresh, for US$860 million as part of a plan to divest less-lucrative units. The company said it was selling the business to Boulevard Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company formed by investment firm Avenue Capital Group. Philadelphia-based AgroFresh […] Read more

Daily Network News

Feed Grain Weekly: Seasonal gains expected this spring

Klassen: Stronger barley prices weigh on feeder cattle values

Russia stops ammonium nitrate exports for one month amid global supply crunch

Fruit/Vegetables