General & Production Tips

Tighter regulations take effect for B.C. farmland reserve

Local governments' expanded role to take effect this fall

New regulations governing how — or if — changes can be made to land’s status within British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) are now in force, but local governments get more prep time for their expanded role. The province on Thursday announced amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) Act — having received royal assent […] Read more

An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

General, Markets

Fraser: What will be the long-term impact of COVID-19?

Analysis: A pandemic runs the risk of driving nations further apart

By GFM Network News March 12, 2020

As developments around the COVID-19 coronavirus change rapidly, I can’t help but speculate on the longer-term effects of it. By now, much has been made of the economic impact it — alongside the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil trade war — will have on global economies. While it’s guesswork to estimate the total impact without knowing how […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies (°C) over the tropical Pacific for the week centred on March 4, 2020. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

General, Reuters, Weather

U.S. forecaster sees 65 per cent chance of no spring El Nino, La Nina

By Reuters, GFM Network News March 12, 2020

Reuters — There is about a 65 per cent chance that neutral weather conditions will prevail in the Northern Hemisphere this spring with no El Niño or La Niña, up from 60 per cent last month, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation-neutral (ENSO) weather pattern is marked by average […] Read more

General, Weather

Business risk management program reforms in development

Changes expected to be announced in July

By GFM Network News March 11, 2020

Recommendations are now being crafted for Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on how to improve business risk management (BRM) programs for farmers in Canada. It’s expected changes to BRM programs will be announced in July when Bibeau and her provincial counterparts meet in Guelph. The recommendations are coming after a study by MPs on the Commons […] Read more

General, Machinery, Markets

Diesel prices expected to trend lower

By GFM Network News March 7, 2020

MarketsFarm — Canadian producers may enjoy a lower diesel bill during spring seeding, as reductions in demand have weighed on diesel prices across North America. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said retail diesel prices are down by about 10 to 15 cents per litre since the beginning of the year. The drop […] Read more

Spring runoff flows through a control structure on the Assiniboine River near Portage la Prairie, Man. in 2014. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

General, Weather

Chances of flooding in Manitoba depend on weather

By GFM Network News February 28, 2020

MarketsFarm — Manitoba has issued its spring thaw forecast of 2020 — with high water levels coming for the Red River. That’s due to significant soil moisture levels left over from the fall and above-normal snow levels in the river’s U.S. watershed. “Our focus is currently on the Red River, where we are expecting a […] Read more

A YourLink tower outside Weyburn, Sask. (YourLink.ca)

General, Machinery

NYC equity firm to buy Xplornet

New investment expected to speed up rural broadband rollouts

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News February 28, 2020

A Manhattan private equity firm deep in “middle-market infrastructure” has committed to buy, and help improve service from, Canada’s single biggest rural broadband provider. New Brunswick-based, privately held Xplornet Communications announced Thursday it has signed a deal to sell majority control itself to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. The two companies’ announcement didn’t put a dollar figure […] Read more

General

Fraser: In ag marketing, emotions need to start trumping facts

Emotional transparency 'actually goes a long way'

By GFM Network News February 19, 2020

Go to an agricultural event and someone will inevitably point out how bad farmers are at getting their message to consumers. As annoying as it is, those comments underscore an increasingly important theme in Canadian agriculture: communication. It used to be enough to grow and market your crops, but that has changed dramatically over the […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

General, Reuters

EU-Canada trade deal clears hurdle in Dutch parliament

By Reuters, GFM Network News February 18, 2020

Amsterdam | Reuters — The European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada cleared a political hurdle on Tuesday, when a slim majority of lawmakers in the Dutch lower house voted to ratify the contested deal. Votes by members of the country’s governing coalition were enough to approve the deal, which was rejected by opposition parties […] Read more

General, Machinery

Xplornet buys Ontario’s Silo Wireless

Deal includes rural wireless, fibre services

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News February 16, 2020

Canada’s biggest rural broadband company has expanded its space in the southwestern Ontario market by buying internet and fibre-to-home provider Silo Wireless. New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications, whose client list already includes over a million rural customers in all provinces, announced it has closed its deal to buy Silo for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures climb on technical trading, rising wholesale prices

U.S. grains: Soybeans regain ground on slowed South American harvest

Agriculture Canada expects farmers to plant more canola, less pulses in 2026/27