Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced Thursday. “Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until Aug. 21, and we’re going to keep working closely […] Read more
Non-essential travel limits extended at U.S. borders with Canada, Mexico
Ontario to insure for crop loss due to lack of labour
AgriInsurance offering hailed as a first in Canada
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s federal/provincial AgriInsurance program has been temporarily expanded to include coronavirus-related labour shortages as a covered cause for crop loss. Producers already enrolled in an eligible production insurance plan and hit by crop losses due to labour disruptions during the 2020 growing season will be able to get further insurance coverage, the Ontario and federal […] Read more
China’s slower meat imports seen worsening its protein shortage
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China’s dwindling pace of meat imports, thanks to its tough measures against coronavirus contamination, will provide further support for prices already buoyed by a severe shortage of pork, analysts said. Purchases of pork and other meats have soared this year after domestic production shrank 30 per cent following an outbreak of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures, boxed beef prices weaken
October lean hogs up slightly
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live and feeder cattle futures weakened with boxed beef prices on Wednesday as large supplies of heavy livestock are ready for slaughter, commodity brokers said. Cattle heading to slaughter weigh more, analysts said, because they put on pounds as animals backed up in feedlots when meat plants closed in April […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices off pandemic peak
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Lentil prices received a bit of a bump earlier in the year from peak pandemic panic-buying, but have subsided in recent weeks. “At the beginning, a lot of people were buying, which led to a spike in prices,” explained Marcos Mosnaim of Globeways Canada in Mississauga. “That scarcity has come down a lot.” […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Large supplies push cattle, hogs mostly lower
Over 17,000 cases of COVID in packing plant workers, U.S. CDC reports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures ended mostly lower on Tuesday under pressure from large supplies, analysts said. Live cattle futures retreated a day after nearing a two-month high, while feeder cattle pulled back after reaching their highest price in month than a month on Monday. “We’ve gotten a bit overbought on […] Read more
China suspends beef imports from Cargill plant
High River plant on long list of blocked facilities
Reading Time: < 1 minute China has temporarily suspended imports of beef from Cargill’s major beef packing plant at High River, Alta., part of a long list of meat plants blocked in the last half of June. The Reuters news service on Monday published a list of meat packing plants from around the world which during June and early July […] Read more
Ontario investigating 17 temp agencies after virus outbreaks on farms
"We stand firm against exploitation in our province"
Reading Time: < 1 minute Toronto/Winnipeg | Reuters — Ontario is investigating 17 temporary recruitment agencies, the province’s labour ministry said, after health officials warned that agencies that move workers from farm to farm could be contributing to COVID-19 outbreaks. Canadian farms rely on some 60,000 people who come to Canada on temporary work permits every year, typically living and […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids soften as sector stabilizes
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed barley bids in Western Canada have softened over the past two weeks, as some normalcy returns to the feeding sector. Feed barley bids delivered into the key Lethbridge feeding area have come down by $6-$8 per tonne over the past two weeks, with current prices around $240 per tonne, said Brandon Motz […] Read more
CUSMA pact takes effect under cloud of disputes, COVID-19
Deal appears to assure continuity of trade for agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Mexico City/Ottawa | Reuters — A modernized U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact took effect on Wednesday, ensuring continuity for manufacturers and agriculture, but the threat of disputes is exposing cracks in what was meant to be a stronger North American fortress of competitiveness. As the deal kicks in, the Trump administration is threatening Canada with new aluminum […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
