Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Hot and dry growing conditions earlier in the growing season cut into Canada’s chickpea yields in 2023-24, but quality should be good if the weather co-operates through the harvest. Canadian farmers planted 315,600 acres of chickpeas in 2023, which was well above the 233,800 acres seeded the previous year, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market neither bullish nor bearish
Market players awaiting harvest
At Ag in Motion: 3D printer takes aim at food ingredients
Making foods both plant-based and printable the goal
Reading Time: 2 minutes With the development of 3D printing, the age of Star Trek replicators has arrived. For master’s student Rhea Thomas Thommana and PhD student Kashika Sethi, food replication is on the horizon as well. Thomas Thommana and Sethi were at Ag in Motion this week with a 3D printer designed to incorporate plant-based ingredients into food, […] Read more
Feds lift ‘pause’ on increases in crop chemical MRLs
New set of rules also calls for 'cosmetic' pesticide use to be banned on federal lands
Reading Time: 6 minutes Proposals to increase a crop chemical’s maximum residue limits (MRLs) on foods and food crops in Canada can again seek federal approval, after being put on temporary hold two years ago. Among several other changes, a planned new package of federal regulatory amendments will put a gradual end to a “pause” imposed in August 2021 […] Read more
Canada retools inflation baskets with more focus on food, gas
Snowblowers and barbecues in, DVD players out
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s national statistics agency on Tuesday revealed new weights for the basket of goods and services in its Consumer Price Index, giving more prominence to changes in the prices of food and gasoline. The reweighting, which Statistics Canada carries out every year, has historically had only a marginal impact on the […] Read more
The scent of a place
Healthy vacations have never been more essential for you, the family and the farm. But where to go? Here’s a great idea: let your sense of smell and a favourite aroma guide you on a trip worth sniffing at!
Reading Time: 7 minutes The woman who sat down across the aisle from me on my train trip from Florence, Italy, to Milan could have been Gina Lollobrigida’s younger sister. But it wasn’t the striking resemblance or her drop-dead elegance that intrigued me, it was the intoxicating fragrance of flowers and spices that wafted from her carry-on bag on […] Read more
Taking a direct mindset to farm marketing
Three winners at Outstanding Young Farmers share the insights that turned their ideas into successful businesses
Reading Time: 6 minutes More Canadian farmers are selling more of what they produce directly to consumers than ever before. Customers are keen to shop for locally made products and many are looking for agritourism experiences. While direct farm marketing has grown in popularity in recent times, it isn’t new to everybody. Some farmers have years of experience in […] Read more
Direct farm marketing in your pocket
Direct-to-consumer sales are climbing across Canada, but the small farms at the bottom of the market face some challenges
Reading Time: 5 minutes We picture them on the sides of roads and highways. We might think of a fruit stand, for example, or maybe we remember a hand-painted sign pointing to a U-pick farm. They’re what we think of when someone says “direct marketing” because they’re the more time-tested ways farmers have bypassed middlemen and retailers to sell […] Read more
An invitation for more guests
“Real farmers” may dismiss agri-tourism and U-pick farms, but with its helicopter packages, fine dining and revenue of $1,500 per customer in some of its ventures, this may be one farm you want to check out
Reading Time: 6 minutes At Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm a half hour north of Edmonton, 80 per cent of the family’s farm revenue used to come from commodity sales and 20 per cent from agri-tourism. Now, those numbers have flipped with agri-tourism bringing in the bulk of the revenue for their northern Alberta farm. Owner Tam Andersen says […] Read more
Coffee, from the ground up
When Canada’s farmers get together over coffee, maybe the coffee should do more of the talking
Reading Time: 6 minutes That coffee you grab to start your day represents more — way more — than something to wake you up. As you sip your favourite morning brew, you probably aren’t thinking about what type of beans were used, where they were grown, who farmed them or how they arrived at your breakfast table or drive-through […] Read more
Food sales grew but margins tightened in 2022, FCC says
Modest further growth expected this year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Food and beverages sales increased in Canada last year, even as margins hit an historic low and consumers chose Canadian less. According to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report, released Tuesday, sales increased 11 per cent to $156 billion in 2022. These gains came largely from higher export values and strength in the grain […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
