Thomas Eckschmidt's Page

Farm Credit Canada Releases 2026 Hog Outlook

Farm Credit Canada is forecasting a profitable year for the pork sector, similar to last year.

Ag in the House: Feb. 2 – 6

An MP wanted answers about a proposed rail line and how it could affect farmers

Making Soybeans Great Again! And A Fools Gold?

Markets moved sharply during the week of February 2 to 6 as soybeans rallied on trade news while energy, livestock and equities strengthened and metals and cryptocurrencies weakened.

Food Freedom Day 2026 - What Canada’s Grocery Costs Really Tell Us

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture says Canadians reached Food Freedom Day on February 8, 2026 the point at which the average household has earned enough income to pay for a full year of groceries.

USDA Official Calls California’s Prop 12 a Threat to a Unified U.S. Pork Market

A senior USDA official has renewed strong criticism of California’s Proposition 12, calling the state’s animal housing and product sale standards a form of domestic trade protectionism that could disrupt the national pork market and raise costs for producers and consumers. At a recent agriculture policy event, the deputy secretary of agriculture described laws like Prop 12 as creating de-facto trade barriers within the United States. Under the complaint, when a single state sets production standards that apply not just to products sold from within the state but to all products entering its borders, it can place producers in other regions at a competitive disadvantage. Prop 12, first approved by California voters in 2018, sets minimum space requirements for certain livestock and prohibits the sale of pork and other animal products in California that do not meet those standards. Because California represents a large share of U.S. pork consumption but only a small share of production, t