Joe Dales's Blog (72)

World Food Commodity Prices Up in April

World food commodity prices edged higher for the second straight month in April.  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on Friday reported that its food price index - which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities - averaged 119.1 points in April, up 0.3% from the revised March level, although still nearly 10% below its year-earlier level.  The advance in the March food price index was the first increase in seven months. The peak was reached in March 2022 at 159.3 points, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The April increase in the overall food index was driven by rising meat prices and modest upticks for vegetable oils, and cereals, which offset declines in sugar and dairy products.  The cereal price index was up 0.3% in March, ending a three-month run of declines. Global wheat export prices stabilized in April as strong competition among major exporters offset concerns about unfavourable c

Map: Rain Eases Corn, Soybean Drought Area

The amount of US corn and soybean production being impacted by drought has fallen to its lowest in almost two years, following wetter Midwest weather this past week.  Based on the weekly US drought monitor released Thursday, the amount of corn production impacted by drought fell to 19% as of Tuesday, down 4 points on the week and the lowest since June 2022. Soybean production impacted by drought dipped an identical 4 points from the previous week to 17%, also the lowest since June 2022.  According to the drought monitor, most of the Midwest saw at least a half inch of rain, with parts of Missouri getting anywhere from 2 to 5 inches. Widespread improvements to ongoing drought occurred in Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, with a few areas of two-category improvements occurring in west-central Missouri where some of the highest rainfall amounts fell, the monitor said.  On a regional basis, just over 18% of the Midwest was being impacted by some form of drought as of Tuesday, down from 23.3

DFC and Starbucks Canada join together to support a sustainable future for dairy

Farm Credit Canada's Dairy Sustainability Incentive Program returns with support from Dairy Farmers of Canada and Starbucks to reward the sustainability successes of farmers Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and Starbucks Canada (Starbucks) have launched today a new collaborative effort to help advance sustainability in the dairy sector. Starbucks has committed $500,000 to support dairy sustainability-focused projects over the course of this year, rewarding the continued efforts of Canadian dairy farmers on their path to net zero. The partnership includes three exciting projects, the first of which is already underway for 2024 in collaboration with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) and Lactanet for FCC’s Dairy Sustainability Incentive Program. This program rewards farmers who are successfully adopting environmental best management practices and encourages continued sustainable farming by granting annual incentives of up to $2,000 to FCC customers who meet select criteria. As part of its partnershi

Canola Council welcomes establishment of regulatory pathway for plant breeding innovation

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) welcomes the release of new guidance on livestock feed released by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today. The guidance clears the final hurdle to establishing a regulatory pathway for gene-edited products in Canada. “Today’s guidance is an important milestone in unlocking the next generation potential for innovation and growth in the Canadian canola industry,” says Chris Davison, president and CEO of the CCC. “As Canada continues its work to feed and fuel the world, plant breeding innovation will play an increasingly important role in developing even more productive and resilient canola crops.” With today’s guidance now published, Canada is also better equipped to encourage investment in support of development of gene-edited crops. New varieties will help make Canada’s canola crop more resilient in the face of pest pressures and climate volatility, support higher yields on each acre of farmland and enhance resource use efficiency. “Pl

Ontario grants $3.5M to Brock University research farm

The Ontario government has granted Brock University $3.5 million for a national sustainable agricultural project that aims to parlay the university’s grape and wine research into the broader agriculture sector.