Changes in U.S. monetary policy could be worth paying attention to in the next year. After nearly six years, the Federal Reserve announced this week that it is ending “quantitative easing,” the bond buy-back program implemented to help the U.S. economy through the recession. The end of QE is seen by many as a step toward… Read More
Category: Podcasts
Are you ready for corn prices down around $2.70/bushel, or soybeans under $7 next fall? Those numbers were included in some of the projections shared in Winnipeg this week, as market analysts and traders from around the world gathered for the second annual Cereals North America market outlook conference. The conference was organized and co-hosted… Read More
Genetically engineering insects is no longer a vision for the future. In fact, one group of GE mosquitoes, Oxitec Ltd’s OX513A, have moved from proof of principle to deployment, and have been used in open field trials in Malaysia, Grand Cayman, and now in Brazil. The mosquitoes are hoped to control their non-modified counterpart, Aedes aegypti, the… Read More
The bulls have continued to lead grain markets higher over the past week, translating into a selling opportunity for 2015 and even 2016, according to bearish analysts. From the Cereals North America market outlook conference in Winnipeg, here’s our weekly farm news recap for October 30th, 2014. Kelvin recaps what’s happened in the markets, the… Read More
Imagine floating weightless in an office far above earth, eating pizza straight out of a 3D printer. Well, astronauts may not be far from experiencing such unique meal preparations in space. In May 2013, NASA announced funding for a phase I, six-month $125, 000 study on 3D printing of foods in order to assess the technology’s ability… Read More
The idea that GMO-free foods are more “natural” than those with genetically modified ingredients is a misconception, says a plant biologist and advocate for genetic modification from the University of Florida. Speaking at the University of Manitoba last week, Kevin Folta discussed how transgenic (or GM) technology works and misunderstandings about genetically modified organisms. He said by definition,… Read More
Plant breeding takes time. Significant amounts of it, in fact. While genetic resistance to things like diseases or pests or even built-in agronomic traits like standability are the ideal, a new wheat variety may take a decade to produce, and even then, still not meet all the needs of every farmer who grows it. In… Read More
This Ruminating with RealAg podcast takes us back to the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference in Saskatoon, where we hear from Suzanne Bertrand, deputy director general at the International Livestock Research Institute, on the differences between Canadian and African adoption of genomics technology, and how genetically modified cattle could combat African Sleeping Sickness. Related: Julie Borlaug Kicks… Read More
Farmers of North America says its bid to acquire the former Canadian Wheat Board and its grain handling assets has been rejected by CWB’s management. FNA was looking to raise up to $380 million from Western Canadian farmers to purchase a majority stake in CWB and use its assets to launch a farmer-owned grain and… Read More
Just like there are many strains of the common cold and the flu, plant diseases can be caused by “races” of the same pathogen. Northern corn leaf blight is one disease that has at least 13 strains — four to six of which affect corn crops in Ontario. In this episode of the Agronomy Geeks… Read More