Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers across the United States are kicking themselves for putting off corn sales after fields dried up in May and June, fueling expectations for higher prices and smaller harvests. Instead, prices tanked as rains saved the crop. The size and speed of the price collapse stung farmers and left their storage bins stuffed with record amounts of corn.
U.S. farmers face harsh economics with record corn supplies in silos
Growers miscalculated when they held on to corn rather than booking sales, experts say
Canadian farmers blamed for ag chemical in U.S. oat foods
Discovery sets off media story despite samples testing well inside safe levels
Reading Time: 3 minutes A U.S. environmental group is pointing a finger at Canadian oat growers, saying they’re the cause of ag chemical residues found in Cheerios and Quaker Oats.
US allows farmers to use existing supplies of dicamba weedkillers
An Arizona court decision vacated the EPA's registration of dicamba-based herbicides
Reading Time: 2 minutes The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday that farmers can use some existing supplies of herbicides based on the chemical dicamba, despite a federal court ruling last week that halted sprayings.
US agriculture secretary sees ‘chaos’ in meat market without congressional action on Prop 12
Canadian sector worried state-specific regulations will cause severe complications for producers selling into U.S.
Reading Time: 2 minutes There will be chaos in the U.S. meat marketplace without congressional action on California's Prop 12 law that tightened animal welfare requirements for pork products sold in the state, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Canadian grain exports a mixed bag in December
Top three canola importers bought less, U.S. bought more
Reading Time: 2 minutes While Canada’s canola exports fell back so far this marketing year compared to last year, those for wheat were up, according to the Canadian Grain Commission. Released on Feb. 7, the monthly export report took Canada’s exports for cereals, oilseeds and pulses to the end of December.
Ag minister talks Proposition 12, VCOOL with the U.S.’s Vilsack
The trip marks MacAulay's first ministerial visit to the U.S. since regaining the role
Reading Time: 2 minutes Proposition 12 and voluntary country of origin labelling (VCOOL) were among topics raised during federal Ag Minister Lawrence MacAulay's first ministerial trip to to the U.S. after being appointed to the portfolio late last year.
Crop-killing weeds advance across US farmland as chemicals lose effectiveness
Losing battle with weeds adds pressures to farmers already stressed by inflation, extreme weather
Reading Time: 4 minutes Crop-killing weeds such as kochia are advancing across the U.S. northern plains and Midwest, in the latest sign that weeds are developing resistance to chemicals faster than companies including Bayer BAYGn.DE and Corteva CTVA.N can develop new ones to fight them.
End date sought for P.E.I. potato export ban
A ban from Washington would be harder to reverse, Liberals say
Reading Time: 4 minutes The federal Conservatives want to see a clearly defined end zone for the Canadian government’s suspension of Prince Edward Island potato exports to the U.S. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced the suspension of certification for P.E.I. potato exports to the U.S., — a move which, according to federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, […] Read more
U.S. Supreme Court backs refineries in biofuel waiver dispute
Top court overturns ruling against EPA granting waivers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday made it easier for small oil refineries to win exemptions from a federal law requiring increasing levels of ethanol and other renewable fuels to be blended into their products, a major setback for biofuel producers. The justices overturned a lower court decision that had faulted the U.S. […] Read more
Japan trade deal aims to put U.S. farmers on par with TPP
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The new U.S.-Japan trade deal will provide staged reduction of Japanese tariffs for more than US$2 billion worth of U.S. beef and pork, matching access now granted to the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact countries, a text of the agreement shows. U.S. President Donald Trump presided over a White House signing […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
