Government and Politics in Ontario Agriculture: The Boiler Room (79)

Bison may not have future on Great Plains

The Great Plains has functioned as an ideal habitat for the North American bison for thousands of years. But according to new research from South Dakota State University, the grasslands of South Dakota and North Dakota may no longer be the national mammal's model habitat by the end of the century. Earth's climate has changed throughout deep history, with periods of both warming and cooling. Currently, the North American climate is seeing an increase in temperatures and variability in precipitation. That change is causing some species to shift their range as living conditions become unsuitable. The research team's findings, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, suggest that the center of suitable climate conditions for the North American bison will shift from the Saskatchewan-Montana/North Dakota border significantly to the northwest, near the Alaska/Canada border, by the year 2100. While Canada and Alaska will become more suitable for bison, much of the contiguous United S

Producers suffer egg woes

Key takeaways • After almost 21 million birds were affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza from January to March 2026, detections have decreased, with less than 10,000 birds affected so far in May. The resulting increase in egg supply comes during a time of softened demand. • Retail prices for shell eggs are currently 62 percent less than in 2025, while prices paid to farmers for shell eggs have decreased 93 percent. Prices for breaker eggs, used for the liquid-egg market, have decreased to just 8 cents per dozen. That’s 96 percent less than in 2025 and well less than break-even levels. • Prolonged periods of less than break-even prices could force farms out of the market and contribute to continued consolidation in the egg industry. Egg markets have encountered massive volatility since outbreaks of HPAI began in 2022. Retail shell-egg prices hit a record level in 2025 but are now almost 60 percent less than a year ago as supplies have strengthened and HPAI cases declined. Th

The world’s game on a Canadian ag canvas

Bert Bos, owner of the 165-acre Bos Sod Farms in Abbotsford, grew the nearly two acres of hybrid turf the players will play on

Pulse Market Insight #298

Third Quarter Scorecard Positive for Pulses More acreage and very high yields meant much bigger Canadian pulse crops in 2025. Pea and lentil crops were each nearly 1.0 mln tonnes larger than 2024 and chickpea production was up by almost 200,000 tonnes. And for each crop, the carryover from 2024/25 into 2025/26 was also large, which added to the big supplies. With pulse crops facing extremely heavy supplies, a serious increase in export volumes was needed in 2025/26 to keep markets from being pressured (even) lower. And early in the marketing year, prospects weren’t great. In fact, the most positive developments only started to show up in the third quarter of the 2025/26 marketing year. While that doesn’t leave a lot of time to “fix” the heavy supply situation, the outlook is certainly brighter than it was a few months ago. Prospects were especially dim for peas earlier in 2025/26, with Chinese tariffs essentially shutting off that important outlet for Canadian peas. Indian demand wa

Progress Accelerates in Lagging States as U.S. Corn, Soy Planting Remains Ahead of Average

U.S. corn and soybean planting continued to progress ahead of the average pace this past week as fieldwork accelerated in some states where it had been lagging. Monday’s USDA crop progress report showed the nationwide corn crop at 76% planted as of Sunday, up 19 points from the previous week and 6 points ahead of the five-year average. An identical 76% of the corn crop had been planted at this time last year. American soybean planting was pegged at 67% complete as of Sunday, a weekly advance of 18 points. That is 14 points ahead of average and 4 points ahead of last year. In Michigan - where producers had been bogged down by wet, cold conditions - corn planting surged 30 points from a week earlier to reach 47% complete as of Sunday. However, that remains behind 60% last year and 52% on average. Soybean planting in Michigan jumped 25 points on the week to 37% complete, versus 50% last year and 46% on average. North Dakota producers also made rapid progress after earlier weather-