Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Are You Aware of Walmart's Power To Control Farm Production Practices?

Walmart wants Iowans to
farm by its principles


Never mind the government regulators. When it
comes to influencing the way farmers grow their
crops, the real power someday may be Walmart, the
nation's largest food retailer.

Walmart pledges to double sales of locally grown
food by 2015 and also is taking steps to ensure that
all the food it sells is produced in sustainable ways.
Walmart wants to measure and set farm-to-fork
standards for the energy and natural resource
impacts of food production.

The company hasn't been specific yet about what
these initiatives will mean for farmers in Iowa. Work
on the sustainability standards for domestically
produced foods has just started.

But Walmart says it is interested in improving soil
quality and conserving water and fossil fuels. In the
run-up to announcing the plan last month, top
Walmart executives flew into Iowa at least twice and
toured three Iowa farms that either follow organic
methods or are known for innovative environmental
practices.

"They seemed to get it," said Ron Rosmann, an
organic farmer near Atlantic. He said the Walmart
executives talked knowledgeably about hot-button i
ssues such as antibiotic usage in livestock and the
environmental benefits of organic practices. "They
were saying this is what we need more of," he said.

Farm groups are watching Walmart's plans
cautiously, given that the company has the market
power to force them to change practices without
compensating them for the higher production costs
that could result.

"I'm not under any illusion that farmers are going to
get premiums for these practices," said Russell
Williams, who is following the Walmart initiative for
the American Farm Bureau Federation. "It's going to
be a cost of doing business. If that's the case, we're
going to have to focus on how not to destroy farm
income."

I saw this article in the Des Moines Register and thought it is relevant here in Ontario as well.

Here is the link to the whole article: 

 

 

 

 

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20101107/BUSINESS01/110703...

 

 

 

Views: 74

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by OntAG Admin on November 8, 2010 at 4:15am
Interesting article from New York state on consumer preferences influencing farming practices.

Farmers React to Changing Marketplace to Survive http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20101031/NEWS09/310310003

Also in the article::

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. requires its suppliers to provide documentation that they follow Good Agricultural Practices, or GAPs, a national program that Cornell University runs in New York that monitors risk-reducing procedures surrounding worker hygiene, water quality, manure and other factors. For years, Wegmans has recommended that local growers get GAP-certified; this was the first year it was required.
Permalink Reply by Bristow on November 8, 2010 at 6:37am
When do Monsato come into the picture. It will be soon than you think from production to the table. With the trend of government take over of some commersial enterprizes. As with the oil industry with opec countries holding lion shares in banks, car production and of course the shipping and production. It is only a matter of time before the producer of seed, chemicals for production will move into the transport, and distrubution of its production as it will be the only one produced. A push by Walmart to sell a organic product cuts into profits of large scale gm food production. But I guess they would have some cosely deal we don;t know. As for shares in these companys, I am quiet sure, your franked shares will be worth something one day, like the money producted out nothing but debt.

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Competition Bureau looking at Canada’s food supply chain

The Competition Bureau plans to look at Canada’s food supply chain through three lenses.

Ag in the House: June 8 – 12

A Bloc MP had questions related to Bill C-30 and crop protection

U.S. Spring Wheat Condition Rises; Winter Wheat Harvest Accelerates

The condition of the 2026 U.S. spring wheat crop improved over the past week, while the winter wheat harvest advanced rapidly and crop ratings remained far below last year. Monday’s USDA crop progress report rated 55% of the national spring wheat crop in good to excellent condition as of Sunday, up 3 percentage points from the previous week but 2 points below the 57% rated good to excellent a year ago. In North Dakota, the largest spring wheat-producing state, the crop remained at 61% good to excellent. Minnesota improved 4 points to a strong 90%, while South Dakota slipped 2 points to 50%. Montana recorded the largest improvement, with its spring wheat rating climbing 9 points to 19% good to excellent. However, 70% of the state’s crop was still rated only fair and another 11% was poor. Spring wheat emergence reached 95%, up from 87% the previous week and ahead of both 88% last year and the five-year average of 89%. Six per cent of the crop was headed, compared with 4% last yea

Alberta Crops Catch Up After Widespread Rains, But Seeding Delays Persist in Northern Regions

Provincial seeding reaches 97%, soil moisture improves across Alberta, and crop emergence continues despite cooler conditions Frequent, soaking rains across Alberta over the past week have delivered a welcome boost to soil moisture reserves and crop emergence, although the moisture has also slowed the final push to complete seeding in some northern areas. According to Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s latest Crop Report, provincial seeding progress for major crops has reached 97%, putting growers within striking distance of the five-year average of 100%. The South and Central regions have completed seeding, while producers in the North East, North West and Peace regions continue working around wet field conditions. Moisture Improves Across Most of Alberta The widespread rainfall has significantly improved soil moisture conditions across much of the province. Surface soil moisture ratings are now well above normal in many areas, helping support crop emergence and early-season dev

EMILI explores how AI-powered agtech increases sustainability, efficiency

AI is a powerful, multi-purpose technology that has the potential to hyperoptimize on-farm activities to a more precise level than ever to help farmers reduce costs, manage data, and increase productivity. Of the 30+ equipment and technologies being demonstrated and tested on EMILI’s Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert in 2026, a third involve AI.  By deploying technology in a fully-operational Manitoba farm setting, EMILI is able to validate what works and provide innovators with feedback on areas of improvement.  “Ground truthing the technology is critically important to ensure it is solving a problem for farmers and providing accurate data insights,” said Koroscil. “AI models don’t always get it right. Our team spends hours in the field counting weed populations, checking soil moisture levels, evaluating environmental conditions, and collecting agronomic measurements to provide boots-on-the-ground validation of what works and what doesn’t.” Evaluating AI-powered technology in p

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service