Young women from across Ontario kept food production going during the war under the farmerette program. Photo: We Lend a Hand.

Women who fed a nation

Reading Time: 6 minutes More than 40,000 young women supported the war effort between the 1940s and early 1950s, helping grow and harvest crops amid labour shortages. They were called Farmerettes.




A vessel is seen arriving at Odesa in southern Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on April 12, 2023. (Photo: Yulii Zozulia/Nurphoto via Reuters Connect)

Ukraine introduces minimum export prices for major agricultural goods

Reading Time: 2 minutes Kyiv | Reuters – Ukraine has introduced a new system for exporting key agrarian goods, including grains, which implies a ban on shipping consignments of goods at prices below those set by the agriculture ministry. Ukraine is a major grain and oilseeds grower and exporter and the new system became operational on Dec. 1. The government […] Read more


A vessel is seen arriving at Odesa in southern Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on April 12, 2023. (Photo: Yulii Zozulia/Nurphoto via Reuters Connect)

Ukraine’s maritime food exports fall to 4.13 mln T in August

Reading Time: < 1 minute Kyiv | Reuters – Ukraine’s food exports by sea and river totalled 4.13 million metric tons in August, down from 4.25 million tons in July, agriculture ministry data showed on Friday. That included 2.18 million tons of wheat, 553,732 tons of corn and 454,641 tons of barley, the data showed. Ukraine’s UGA grain traders union […] Read more



A man is seen outside the house damaged by Russian shelling, Odesa Region, southern Ukraine. (Photo by Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/Sipa USA)

What is war fatigue?

If the West is 'tired' of the war in Ukraine, consider the reality of Ukrainians

Reading Time: 6 minutes As we approached the end of December, my mood, like that of most Ukrainians, was not at all Christmassy. The heroic achievement of 2022, when our lives hung in the balance and our defenders managed to repel the enemy, was replaced by the bloody routine of 2023.

Cargo ship Despina V, carrying Ukrainian grain, is seen in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey November 2, 2022.  Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas

Ukraine grain export deal back on as Russia resumes participation

Reading Time: 4 minutes Ankara/Kyiv | Reuters – Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from war-torn Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders had said threatened to exacerbate global hunger. Moscow announced the sudden reversal after Turkey and the United Nations helped keep Ukrainian grain flowing for several days […] Read more


Commercial vessels including vessels which are part of Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2022.  Photo: Reuters/Umit Bektas

U.N.’s Black Sea grain deal continues without Russia

Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters – Grain was flowing out of Ukraine at a record pace on Monday under an initiative led by the United Nations aimed at easing global food shortages despite Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the scheme. Russia said on Saturday it was pulling out of the deal, which ensured safe passage […] Read more

A wheat field near the village of Zhovtneve, Ukraine in 2016.  Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko/File

Ukraine keeps 2023 winter wheat sowing area forecast unchanged despite delays

Reading Time: < 1 minute Kyiv | Reuters – Ukraine is keeping its forecast of the winter wheat sowing area for the 2023 harvest unchanged at 3.8 million hectares despite a delay caused by unfavourable weather, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters on Tuesday. Ukraine sowed more than 6 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2022 harvest, but […] Read more