Reading Time: 2 minutes The semiconductor chip shortage plaguing automotive and equipment manufacturers may last into the second and even third quarters of the year, farm equipment retailer Cervus Group says. Calgary-based Cervus — which operates 64 dealerships in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, including 38 devoted mainly to Deere farm equipment — expects increased demand to run up […] Read more
Cervus expects chip shortages may continue into fall
Deere dealer chain books increased Q1 profit
Ocean freight rates at decade highs
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have climbed steadily higher over the past year, recovering from the lows hit at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 to see their highest levels in over a decade. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, hit a high of 3,266 points on Wednesday. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn tops $6 a bushel, soy at seven-year high
CBOT wheat also books life-of-contract high
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures climbed to their highest in nearly eight years on Tuesday and soybean futures neared a seven-year high as tightening supplies supported cash markets and attracted speculative buying, analysts said. Worries about dry conditions curbing corn yields in Brazil and cold weather slowing germination of the 2021 U.S. crop […] Read more
Federal budget to offer direct payments to farmers for carbon pricing
Other new 'green growth' funding also on deck
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government’s 2021 budget offers up new spending to support farmers combatting climate change through targeted investments — and, in some cases, direct payments. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on “green growth.” “Budget 2021 announces […] Read more
Agriculture, agrifood wish lists pile up ahead of long-delayed budget
Freeland's budget due out Monday afternoon
Reading Time: 3 minutes Agriculture and agrifood sector stakeholders will learn Monday which of their requests make their way out of the pile and into a long-awaited federal budget. Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s 2021 budget is scheduled to be released Monday in the House of Commons, at about 4 p.m. ET. Canadians didn’t get a 2020 budget: it […] Read more
Grain, oilseed exports at strong pace
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canadian grain and oilseed exports continue at a strong pace, with movement of canola, wheat and barley all running well ahead of the year-ago pace. Crop-year-to-date exports of Canada’s major grains and oilseeds as of Sunday came in at 37.78 million tonnes, according to Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) data. That’s up by roughly […] Read more
Compensation programs hatched for feather sectors
On-farm investment, market development plans on deck
Reading Time: 4 minutes Long-awaited programs to make up for market share lost to imports under the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact are set to roll out to Canada’s chicken, egg and turkey farmers. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and caucus colleagues on Tuesday announced the specific contents of her previously-pledged $691 million, 10-year compensation funding envelope: a Poultry and Egg […] Read more
On-farm cybersecurity campaign gets backing
Glacier FarmMedia to link up with federally-funded project
Reading Time: 2 minutes A campaign to assess, reinforce and promote cybersecurity across Canada’s ag sector — partly through this website and its sister publications and events — has been tapped to receive multi-year federal funding. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on March 25 announced over $500,000 over four years through the federal Cyber Security Co-operation Program for the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat lifted on spring planting concerns
Near-term tightness in world supply underpins soy, corn
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat futures gained on Wednesday, following the Minneapolis Grain Exchange’s hard red spring wheat higher on concerns that dryness across the U.S. Great Plains could affect spring wheat plantings. Chicago corn gained ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply and demand report on Friday, which is expected to […] Read more
Japan increases demand for canola
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Japan has continued to generate an increased demand for canola, according to Daisuke Sasatani, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) attaché in Tokyo. Sasatani said approximately 98 per cent of Japan’s canola imports are from Canada, while Australia supplies the remainder. The attaché estimated Japan’s canola imports in 2020-21 are to rise by […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
