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AALP's Blog – July 2018 Archive (8)

Telling our story in Plano

Out last day in Texas had the AALP Class visit BNSF Railway headquarters (the air traffic control of the railway) a 23-billion dollar company situated outside of Fort Worth in an impressive, modern facility. We were greeted by James Titsworth, General Director of Business Development. We viewed the impressive state-of-the-art dispatch area, where over 250 people work together 24/7 ensuring safety of the railway system West of…

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Added by AALP on July 18, 2018 at 4:30am — No Comments

Going back in time in Dallas

Sunday, July 15th saw AALP Class 17 visit the Sixth Floor Museum Sixth Floor Museumin Dallas. This is the floor…

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Added by AALP on July 15, 2018 at 4:00am — No Comments

History, Culture and Cowboys

Our day began in the historic Stockyards District of Fort Worth, once called "Cowtown". This was once the great livestock exchange of the region, as animals made their way into the area‎ by rail. The economy and infrastructure has changed, but the industry has adapted.

At Superior Livestock Auction, bimonthly…

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Added by AALP on July 14, 2018 at 3:30am — No Comments

In the fields of Texas

Friday morning saw the group continue its NAST with an early morning visit to the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB). Located on a 70-acre campus outside of Waco, the Texas Farm Bureau advocates for the agricultural needs of all Texas farmers at the local, state and national level. With over 500,000 member families, the TFB prides itself as being the “Voice of Agriculture”.…

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Added by AALP on July 13, 2018 at 12:00am — No Comments

From the Capitol to cattle

Day 5 of our tour started with the drive from College Station to the capital city of Austin. We headed to the Capitol, taking in the architecture and city sights. We also learned a few fun facts about the Capitol building, such as it is taller than the US Capitol building!

Our first speaker was Christi Craddick, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission.…

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Added by AALP on July 12, 2018 at 10:00am — No Comments

Everything's bigger in Texas

Our first visit of the day was to J.D. Hudgins, a family business breeding registered Brahman cattle for sale in ‎38 states and 43 countries, most located around the equator. This breed is very well suited to tropical and subtropical climates, having originated in India. We got to "meet" Manso, the bull bought by Hudgins in…

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Added by AALP on July 10, 2018 at 12:30am — No Comments

AALP class takes NASA

Houston, we have landed. On day two of the North American study tour AALP class 17 stopped in at NASA Johnson Space Center. We had the chance to see the historic mission control center where they navigated the first man to the moon, in addition to many other missions to space.

The control center, which closed in 1992, still features the speaker where many historic words were said –…

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Added by AALP on July 9, 2018 at 12:30am — No Comments

Howdy from Texas

AALP Class 17 arrived at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and were greeted by Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz, the leadership program director and professor of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Jim is also the director of Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership…

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Added by AALP on July 8, 2018 at 10:00am — No Comments

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

Low commodity prices and high input costs a double whammy for Manitoba farmers

Manitoba farmers are facing a perfect storm of low grain prices and soaring fertilizer costs that are threatening profitability for both the current harvest and next year’s crop. Current harvest delivery prices have fallen to $7 per bushel for hard red spring wheat, $13.25 for canola, $11 for soybeans and $4 for oats, representing harvest pricing typically seed at the lows of a pricing cycle. On the cost side, fertilizer costs have climbed significantly from the numbers used in Manitoba Ag’s 2025 crop cost of production guide, which was compiled last November.  Urea has jumped to $850-900 per metric tonne, about 30 per cent higher than the $690 per tonne used in those calculations. Data from Manitoba Ag show a surge in crop production costs in 2022.  Those have stayed elevated and, when combined with current grain prices, the cost pressure is particularly acute.

US wheat finds new markets in Asia

Flour millers in Asia have ramped up imports of U.S. wheat in recent weeks, driven by competitive prices from American suppliers and delays in shipments from the Black Sea. Indonesian importers have finalized deals for around 500,000 tons, while buyers in Bangladesh secured about 250,000 tons and millers in Sri Lanka acquired around 100,000 tons. Millers are taking both U.S. soft white wheat and hard red winter wheat varieties. Apparently, there were some weather issues which delayed cargoes from the Black Sea region, and U.S. prices have been pretty competitive. This is additional demand for U.S. wheat in Asia, complementing purchases by traditional buyers such as Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture (FPT) Meetings Highlight Farmer Concerns

Industry leaders and government officials kicked off the FPT meetings at a Manitoba farm. Farmers and representatives from the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), CCGA, and provincial commissions shared their concerns directly with Minister MacDonald and Parliamentary Secretary Kody Blois. A key message was clear: farmers cannot borrow their way through these trade disputes, they were not of their making. Farmers are feeling the damage directly in their pockets. With canola selling at a discount between $60-$100/tonne...on an average 20MMT crop, that translates to estimated losses of $1.2–2.0 billion from lost exports to China. Federal Announcements: Some Support, but Gaps Remain The federal government announced $370 million in biofuel funding and additional trade diversification support. While these measures are a step in the right direction, they fall short of addressing the direct impact on canola farmers and exporters in lost bookings. Concerns remain over the lack of timelines for re

The Last Word (For Now) on Rest Stops During Long-Distance Transport

When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began to muse about requiring that cattle be unloaded and provided with a rest stop after 36 hours of transportation, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Canada’s beef industry funded a series of research projects led by Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein’s team at AAFC’s Lethbridge Research Station to determine whether a rest stop would benefit weaned calves. The research began before the regulations were revised, but the regulations were revised before the research could be completed. Three consecutive research trials conducted in 2018, 2019 and 2020 found that providing a rest stop during long haul transportation offered no consistent, measurable benefits for animal welfare. A companion project led by Trevor Alexander at AAFC Lethbridge looked at bacterial populations in the respiratory tract of those same calves. In September 2023, this column described how microbiological testing from the 2018 transportation trial found that rested

Federal Plastics Registry has new compliance requirement

The federal government has created new reporting requirements under its new Federal Plastics Registry. The registry is being phased in over a few years, however phase 1 requires Canadian brand owners to report on plastic packaging placed on the market by September 29, 2025, for the 2024 calendar year.

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