Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The supply/demand balance sheets for Canada’s major crops were largely left unchanged in the latest outlook Friday from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. While the March report only saw minor revisions, the government agency cautioned that “the economic outlook, for the world and Canadian grain markets, is particularly uncertain due to the Russian invasion […] Read more
AAFC warns of uncertainty in latest crop outlook
Saskatchewan pushes crop insurance deadline to mid-April
'Logistical challenges' led to extension
Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan farmers will get an extra couple of weeks to apply for, cancel, reinstate or change their crop insurance contracts for 2022, due to holdups in the delivery of their application packages. That deadline, originally March 31, has now been extended to April 14, provincial Ag Minister David Marit and his federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau […] Read more
Rate of rise in farmland value ‘surprised’ in 2021
Canada books 8.3 per cent year-over-year increase, FCC reports
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite a year of economic uncertainty due to extreme weather, reduced crop yields and the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of Canadian farmland rose by its highest rate in four years, according to a report from Farm Credit Canada (FCC). FCC’s report, released Monday, revealed that the national average value of farmland increased by […] Read more
JBS to help fund home purchases for Brooks staff
Company offering zero-interest loans for down payments
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the biggest beef packers operating in Canada is pledging $1.7 million for a one-year pilot program to help employees buy or upgrade homes. JBS Foods Canada, which operates Brazilian meat packer JBS’s plant at Brooks, Alta., on Tuesday announced the launch of what it calls the “Homebuyer Dream Fund,” providing zero-interest loans to […] Read more
Manitoba border blockade expected to end Wednesday
'Resolution' reached, Mounties say
Reading Time: 2 minutes Another protest blockade of a key Canada-U.S. trade corridor is expected to wrap up by Wednesday. Manitoba RCMP on Tuesday reported they “are now confident that a resolution has been reached” with protestors who, since Thursday, have blockaded Highway 75 leading to the border crossing at Emerson, Man., about 100 km south of Winnipeg. The […] Read more
What’s holding up delivery of your new tractor?
You’ve got a new tractor or combine on order, but will it get built in time? COVID-19 could hardly have hit the world’s farm machinery sector harder, or come at a worse time. Here’s how manufacturers hope to fight back
Reading Time: 5 minutes A few years ago I was standing in a brand new ag equipment manufacturing plant in Germany listening to a senior brand executive talk about its cutting-edge design. Compared to the company’s old facility, he remarked, its storage area was relatively tiny. When asked why, his reply came quickly and with a smile: “We use […] Read more
Coping with uncertainty
A look at how senior executives are dealing with COVID-19’s effects on their firms
Reading Time: 7 minutes The disruptions to business and industry caused or worsened by COVID-19 have been well documented in the media. How, exactly, are equipment makers being affected, and how are they fighting back? Are they all experiencing similar problems, and how significant are they? To find out, Country Guide spoke with senior executives at three Canadian manufacturers. […] Read more
Canada to ease travel requirements as COVID cases decline
Reading Time: 2 minutes Updated — Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travelers starting Feb. 28 as COVID-19 cases decline, allowing a rapid antigen test for travelers instead of a molecular one, officials said Tuesday. Antigen tests are cheaper than a molecular test and can provide results within minutes. The new measures, which […] Read more
Alberta border blockade expected to disperse Tuesday
Decision comes amid arrests, reported violence at blockade
Reading Time: 4 minutes Amid reports of violence involving a farm tractor and trucks — and seizures of weapons — the protest blockade that shut Alberta’s busiest U.S. trade corridor is reported to be winding down starting Tuesday. Several media outlets on Monday quoted organizers of the blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts, Alta. as saying they […] Read more
Windsor-Detroit trade corridor reopens after police clear protesters
Prairie premiers oppose use of Emergencies Act
Reading Time: 3 minutes Windsor/Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — North America’s busiest trade link reopened for traffic late Sunday evening, ending a six-day blockade, the Canada Border Services Agency said, after Canadian police cleared the protesters fighting to end COVID-19 restrictions. Canadian police made several arrests on Sunday and cleared protesters and vehicles that occupied the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
