Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland attends a news conference on media freedom as part of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Dinard, France on April 5, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Stephane Mahe)

Canada looks at fresh tariffs on U.S. goods

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is looking at ways to boost the effectiveness of its retaliatory tariffs against the United States, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday, but did not address remarks by a senior official who revealed what Ottawa might do. Canada imposed tariffs on $16.6 billion worth of U.S. exports in May […] Read more

A file photo of rapeseed fields near Vouziers in France’s Ardennes department. (Photopixal/iStock/Getty Images)

French rapeseed farmers destroy 18,000 hectares over GMO risk

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French farmers destroyed a total of 18,000 hectares of rapeseed, more than double the area initially expected, following the discovery of a non-authorized genetically modified organism (GMO) in seeds, German group Bayer said on Friday. Bayer had announced in February that farmers in France and Germany were turning over thousands of […] Read more


CBOT May 2019 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Trade hopes spur gains in soy futures

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures firmed for the third time in four sessions on Thursday, supported by a better-than-expected export report and hopes for a trade deal with China, traders said. Corn futures also closed in positive territory, with more rain in the U.S. Midwest sparking fresh concerns about planting delays in key […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

China has not escalated canola seed dispute with Canada, Ottawa says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — China has not escalated a dispute with Canada over the export of canola seeds and comments by the Canadian farm minister on the matter have been misunderstood, an agriculture ministry official said on Wednesday. China — embroiled in a major diplomatic dispute with Ottawa — has blocked imports from two major […] Read more


International Trade Minister Jim Carr (at podium) and Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announce plans for a technical delegation and stakeholder working group to address China’s import bans on Canadian canola. (AAFC video screengrab via Facebook Live)

Canada to set up working group for China canola push

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canola industry stakeholders and provincial officials are to join federal officials in a co-ordinated push to resolve China’s issues with Canadian canola, cabinet ministers said Monday. Speaking Monday in Ottawa, Canada’s Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr said they’ve set up a new working group including representatives from the Canola […] Read more

Indications point to a rise in malt barley acres in 2019, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre says. (Dave Bedard photo)

Malt barley acreage predicted to increase

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Industry experts expect malt barley acreage in Western Canada to increase by about five per cent this year, supported by strong prices for both feed and malt. “All indications suggest we’ll see an increase in malt barley, as well as feed,” confirmed Peter Watts of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre. In light […] Read more





Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson says China’s decision to stop imports of Canadian canola via Richardson International is concerning and something on which the council will work with the Canadian government to try and reverse. (Allan Dawson photo)

China’s block on canola seen as blowback from diplomatic spat

Reading Time: 3 minutes Montreal — Canola industry leaders attending the first Canadian Crops Convention here this week say they don’t know why China has abruptly blocked imports of Canadian canola from Richardson International, Canada’s biggest grain company. But according to a senior Richardson official it’s in retaliation to the diplomatic spat between China and Canada over the arrest […] Read more

(Merschman Seeds video screengrab via YouTube)

Corteva wins final OK for global launch of Enlist E3 soy

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — DowDuPont has won the final international regulatory approval needed, from the Philippines, for a global launch of a new line of genetically engineered soybeans, the company said on Thursday. The approval means seed companies can sell the soybeans, named Enlist E3, to farmers for planting as early as this spring without […] Read more