Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan expects to pull back its spending on agriculture by about $22.4 million in its 2020-21 budget year, mainly in a reduced outlay on business risk management (BRM) programs. Provincial Finance Minister Donna Harpauer on Wednesday tabled the province’s 2020-21 spending estimates with the “unusual step” of not including revenue forecasts, citing the current COVID-19 […] Read more
Saskatchewan pares ag spending in estimates
Spending estimates released without revenue forecasts
No Prairie farm fuel shortages expected in pandemic
Continuity plans in place to keep fuel moving
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie farmers shouldn’t see a disruption to their farm fuel distribution as a result of COVID-19 safety measures. “Our members are committed to minimizing disruptions to the Canadian fuel supply as a result of the pandemic response,” Canadian Fuels Association spokesperson Jason Vaillant said in an email. “Our members are working tirelessly to maintain operations […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn skids to lowest level since September 2016
Wheat, soybean futures rise
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell 2.2 per cent to their lowest level in 3-1/2 years on Wednesday, with falling prices for crude oil cutting into demand from the ethanol market, traders said. A crumbling cash market for corn added to the pressure in the futures contracts as dealers in the country slashed […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: More virus volatility expected in canola
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — A sharp drop in the Canadian dollar helped lessen the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ICE Futures canola market. However, volatility and uncertainty are expected to remain the feature in the upcoming weeks. Any strength in canola “is 100 per cent the Canadian dollar and nothing else,” said Ken Ball, of […] Read more
U.S. under pressure to keep slaughterhouses open
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to reassure meat producers it will keep slaughterhouses staffed with federal inspectors as fears about potential shutdowns due to the COVID-19 coronavirus hammer livestock prices and fuel concerns about food supplies, meat industry groups said on Monday. Livestock markets have been hit hard as […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat book multi-month lows
Financial markets continue to drag commodities lower
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain and soybean futures sank to multi-month lows on Monday on worries about the coronavirus pandemic denting the global economy and chilling end-user demand for commodities, traders said. “The fear is still that it will only get worse as the week unfolds,” said Mark Schultz, chief analyst at Northstar Commodity […] Read more
COVID-19 and farm workers: How do we manage on the farm?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Keeping up to date with COVID-19 details and recommended protocols is challenging for everyone at this time. CAHRC has created a dedicated web page with the latest information, recommendations, employee management tips, tools (posters, policies) and links to authorities. These details will help you respond to the pandemic and limit the impact and spread of […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat firm, corn flat as financial markets steady
CBOT soybean futures sag
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures closed fractionally higher on Friday and corn ended flat, stabilizing as wider financial markets regained some ground after plummeting on fears of the economic fallout from the global coronavirus outbreak. But soybean futures fell, hitting life-of-contract lows as crop weather in South America improved, bolstering expectations of large […] Read more
Fraser: What will be the long-term impact of COVID-19?
Analysis: A pandemic runs the risk of driving nations further apart
Reading Time: 2 minutes As developments around the COVID-19 coronavirus change rapidly, I can’t help but speculate on the longer-term effects of it. By now, much has been made of the economic impact it — alongside the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil trade war — will have on global economies. While it’s guesswork to estimate the total impact without knowing how […] Read more
Gene-edited chickens planned in bid to halt next pandemic
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — British scientists are developing gene-edited chickens designed to be totally resistant to flu in a new approach to trying to stop the next deadly human pandemic. The first of the transgenic chicks will be hatched later this year at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said Wendy […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
