Patrick Bergermann, associate vice-president, energy roadmap, with Federated Co-operatives, says Canadian refiners are keenly interested in co-processing, which is a more efficient way to produce biofuel.

It allows refiners to use existing production facilities to make biofuel, rather than building expensive biodiesel or renewable diesel plants.

Co-processing enables refiners to simultaneously run canola oil and crude oil through their existing facilities and generate carbon credits from the resulting fuel.

The more traditional approach is to use separate facilities to create regular fuel and biofuel and blend the two together.

“I don’t think that there is a refiner in Canada that isn’t at least testing (co-processing),” said Bergermann, who recently delivered a presentation on biofuels at the Seeds Canada 2026 annual meeting.

The co-processing feedstock of choice is refined, bleached and deodorized canola oil.

“It’s clean, it’s easy to utilize and it’s fairly good on some of the units,” he said.

Refiners must invest in dewaxing catalysts, but that’s about it for extra costs.

“Most of our peers in Canada’s refining sector share our view that this represents a far more capital-efficient way for the country to build renewable diesel production,” said Bergermann.

If refiners in Ontario and Western Canada used 10 per cent co-processing in their catalytic cracking units and five per cent in their hydrotreater units, it would create a brand-new market for 2.7 million tonnes of canola oil per year.

“That’s the equivalent of about five crush plants,” said Bergermann.

The only thing holding refiners back from commercializing the technology is the high cost of canola oil compared to crude oil.

“The difference there is big enough that the CFR (Clean Fuel Regulations) credit values would need to rise a bit more to be able to justify turning it on full-time,” he said.

That is why farm organizations, biofuel groups and oil refiners are lobbying Environment Canada to amend the CFR to include a multiplier that would give refiners extra credits for using Canadian feedstocks such as canola oil.

The multiplier would narrow the gap between crude oil and canola oil prices.

“If those pieces fall in place, you’re going to see some movement on co-processing in a significant way,” said Bergermann.

Some refiners are already using co-processing technology, but many more are waiting for a market signal from government.

“Certainly, in the next couple of years, there would be a lot of movement that would happen if the right policy framework is in place,” he said.

Co-processing has already been approved as a legitimate pathway under the CFR. Refiners just need to apply to Environment Canada to have their assets and feedstocks certified.

Bergermann said Canada can’t afford to make the same mistake it made with ethanol policy, where 64 per cent of the domestic demand is being met by imported product.

Chris Vervaet, senior associate with T. Bjornson and Associates Inc. and former executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, said canola crushers have done their part to prepare for this potential new source of demand.

They invested $2 billion to expand Canadian crush capacity by 40 per cent. Three-quarters of the country’s canola production is now being processed at home.

Vervaet said Canada’s biofuel policy added nearly $600 million to the farmgate value of canola in 2025-26, which amounted to an extra $0.62 per bushel.

A minor feedstock

However, the returns should be better than that. Canola accounted for only 29 per cent of the feedstock share for biodiesel and renewable diesel in 2024. Used cooking oil and tallow contributed 53 per cent by comparison.

“In our own backyard we’re not even the dominant feedstock, which is disappointing,” he said.

The other thing that concerns him is the “stroke-of-pen risk” for Canadian biofuel policy.

Biofuel is a non-partisan issue in the United States, but that is not the case in Canada.

Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre considers the CFR to be a “second carbon tax,” driving up the cost of living for Canadian consumers.

Bergermann said the first renewable fuel standard mandate happened under a Conservative government, but today, the CFR is very much viewed as a Liberal policy.

“That’s one of the biggest things we need to change in the agriculture industry is to make sure it becomes a non-partisan issue,” he said.

Bergermann noted that when the Republicans are in power in the United States, biofuel is heavily promoted as being good for rural economic development.

When the Democrats are in power, the lobbyist narrative quickly shifts to emissions reduction and environmental benefits.

Production ‘insufficiently incented’

Canada and the U.S. have taken opposite approaches to biofuel policy. In Canada it has always been about creating biofuel demand, while the U.S. has focused on production incentives.

“The U.S. has the capacity built and they’re looking for a market, and we’ve built a market but have insufficiently incented the production to fill that market need,” he said.

Bergermann hopes the promised CFR amendments address that shortcoming and create policy that drives production.

“Production is where the jobs are,” he said.

In the meantime, FCL has completed its co-processing trials on both its catalytic cracking and hydrotreater units and is pleased with the results.

“We’ve got some adjustments we’re going to make based upon the trial results, but it looks really promising.”

An online fundraising campaign had raised more than $96,000 as of noon July 10 for Evan and Annika Hansen.

Evan Hansen is in critical condition in University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton with burns to 80 per cent of his body after the accident.

Annika Hansen’s sister, Laurel Stickel, created the fundraiser. She wrote that the couple were married just five months ago.

The plane hit power lines about 50 kilometres southwest of Weyburn, Sask., around 11 a.m. Wednesday. STARS Air Ambulance was dispatched and transported Hansen to hospital.

Stickel wrote that the family needs a miracle to stabilize Hansen’s blood pressure, reduce swelling, heal his lungs and keep him safe from infections.

Health Canada approved the use of drone technology for pesticide application, so long as the product is already approved for conventional aerial application. This new policy aligns with that of countries such as Australia and Japan.

Drone demos are now a major part of farm shows, like Ag in Motion, where they hold farmers captive during demonstrations. At Ag in Motion, held July 21 to 23 near Langham, Sask., spray drones make up an expanding section of the show as interest in the aerial machines grows.

Health Canada states that pesticide application via drones doesn’t create any additional health or environmental risks compared to traditional aerial spraying.

This follows the letter of no objection that was issued in early June as a temporary measure authorizing drone pesticide application for the 2026 spraying season due to terribly wet spring conditions.

“Being just this incredibly wet spring, when people can’t get into fields, really is bringing home what a great tool a drone will be in certain circumstances,” said Markus Weber, familiar face at Ag in Motion as owner of Landview Drones and president of the recently formed Canadian Agricultural Drones Association.

“It’s not an everyday spray tool, necessarily, but in some instances, it’s the only spray tool that’s going to work.”

Weber suspects that with the federal go-ahead, the user profile of drones will shift. It’s more likely to be of interest to mainstream farmers instead of just those who were pushing the envelope as the “cowboys” of the drone world.

However, as the average farmer dives into the world of drones, some factors need to be considered.

Drone regulation

As with any new technology, there are new rules and regulations that must be understood and heeded.

“I get it from the grower, the farmer side, where, ‘oh, it’s only Roundup,’ ” said Adrian Rivard, president of Drone Spray Canada.

“But again, there’s a lot of consideration that needs to go into this that maybe some of us are a little bit callous to.”

Rivard said there are two “pillars” to drone regulations: the aircraft factor, regulated by Transport Canada, and the sprayer and chemical factor, regulated by Health Canada and Environment Canada.

Transport Canada requires pilots to hold a Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations if operating drones in the weight range of 25 to 150 kilograms. Most agricultural drones fall within this range and can exceed it when fully loaded.

To obtain the licence, there is a written portion, including legality, flight restrictions and carrying rules, and a hands-on portion.

Once the written exam is passed, the student goes out with an advanced flight reviewer and spends an hour to an hour and a half with the drone to understand safety, the steps in flying a drone that weighs 25 to 150 kg, flying in controlled airspace and flying above people.

“It’s not just because you’re out spraying a canola field that that licence lets you fly that drone,” Rivard said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in the canola field 16 miles west of Lloydminster or if you’re right next to the Regina Airport — you’re licensed to be in all those places.”

This licence applies to all drones in the weight range, for any purpose — not just spraying — because it’s a matter of safety for the user and those around the drone.

In addition to licences and federal regulations, producers must review their provincial requirements, if established.

“In Alberta, we’ve had study materials for over a year,” said Weber.

“We’ve had an exam available for drone pesticide certification, specifically for applying by drone. Saskatchewan also now has that, but most of the other provinces aren’t in that position yet.”

The new Health Canada regulation doesn’t mean everything is “all good,” he added.

Landview and Drone Spray Canada both offer drone licensing classes, as do many other dealers. However, depending on the location of the dealer and their availability, the program of the classes will vary.

Some, such as Drone Spray, offers online courses for producers to get an in-depth handle on the material necessary for the certificate exam, while Landview has a variety of classes and “boot camps” that include exam prep, aviation and pest regulations, and learning the practicalities of drone use.

Weber said Landview’s courses include lessons on safety factors, logistics, mission planning, establishing effective swath width, proper swatch measuring and spray drift considerations. They also spend time on wind conditions, when to stop spraying — 12 km-h wind is the recommended cut-off — inversion risk (where droplets could carry further) and deposition (adjusting for the conditions, such as coarseness of droplet and height of drone).

“A drone is essentially a mini-tornado,” Weber said.

“There’s turbulent air underneath that drone distributing droplets, and you need to figure out exactly how wide that swath is going to be under your circumstances.”

Technology differences

There’s a fit for any operation, with choice of model depending on what is needed in efficacy and efficiency for the farm.

By using a tool such as a return-on-investment calculator, producers can determine what model is optimal for their acres, manpower and budget.

A T100 may be best for cropland and applying pesticide and fungicide, while a T25 would be better for spot spraying and pasture management. However, the better option for a grain producer may be three T70s instead of two T100s.

Drones also boast lower costs than a typical sprayer.

“Now that we’re seeing that the drones can actually cover a lot of acres effectively, your operating costs are under $5 an acre, for sure,” said Rivard.

However, there are a few other aspects that should be kept in mind, such as batteries, generators, docking spots, spray trailers, personal protective equipment (PPE) and additional manpower.

The T100 — the largest spray drone model available in Canada — has a 26 gallon tank, spraying at 10 gallons per minute. That translates to a cycle time of approximately four minutes, and the producer must then refill the tank and likely change the battery.

Because of the short timeline between refills, PPE requirements should be top of mind.

“The frequency of refill is something to be concerned about for any operator,” Weber said.

“If you’re handling chemicals every hour or two, that’s quite different from handling them every five or six minutes. So you need to take the PPE requirements seriously.”

To swap batteries and change them out efficiently, most drone operators will outfit their spray trailers with generators alongside their water tanks and chemical.

“You still need some sort of support rig (for the drone),” Rivard said.

“Not many guys are running the sprayer home from the field to fill the tank back up. Usually there’s a tender crew out there with them, so in our logic, it’s kind of something you would need regardless of how you’re putting out that product.”

Rules to limit exposure

With the new regulations, proper PPE must be followed, and the drone pilot and the chemical loader and mixer have to be two different people to limit operational exposure. This rule is aligned with what’s required for typical aerial application.

Weber believes this rule will be one of the most challenging aspects for farm operations.

“The reality is, much of farm operations in Canada will likely be conducted by one person, if it was legal to do that,” he said.

Other challenges with the new regulations are with label requirements — some require application with a closed cab or closed transfer systems.

“A drone doesn’t have a cab,” Weber said.

“Does that mean the person needs to be indoors, inside the vehicle? Does that mean perhaps the drone is downwind to get the same type of protection?

“It’s challenging to figure some of those aspects out when they were clearly meant for a different type of operation from what a drone operation looks like.”

A closed transfer system is “doable,” Weber said, but there is no drone system with closed transfer yet, which limits some availability of spray products.

When in doubt, the best choice is to talk to a chemical sales rep or an agronomist in terms of label requirements.

“It’s too early yet to say we’re in a recession,” Des Sobool, deputy chief economist with Farm Credit Canada, told delegates attending Seeds Canada’s 2026 annual meeting.

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of decline in a country’s gross domestic product.

The Canadian economy shrunk by one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 followed by a 0.1 per cent contraction in the first quarter of 2026, so that meets the technical definition.

However, Sobool said it is more nuanced than that. Economists also look at other factors, such as how many sectors of the economy experienced a downturn and how the labour force is performing.

If Canada experienced a recession, it certainly was not as pronounced as previous ones.

And it appears to have been short-lived.

FCC’s expectation is that the economy rebounded in the second quarter of 2026, growing by an estimated 2.5 per cent.

However, there is no doubt that U.S. tariffs have caused considerable turmoil and volatility that is weighing on the Canadian economy.

FCC expects Canadian GDP will grow by a paltry 0.9 per cent in 2026, followed by 1.4 per cent in 2027. That would be five years in a row where growth was two per cent or less.

“That is just not sufficient,” said Sobool.

“Our growth should be above two per cent.”

Product inventories increased by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, indicating that businesses are either anticipating a surge in future demand or that consumer purchasing has slumped.

Capital spending was down one per cent, which was a huge drain on GDP.

A mere 68 per cent of Canadian businesses polled in the second quarter of 2026 felt optimistic about the next 12 months, compared to 73 per cent before implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

“When the tariffs hit, business sentiment just tanked,” said Sobool.

Canada’s labour productivity grew at a rate of 0.7 per cent in 2025, which is above the G7 average but well below the U.S. market.

If productivity in Canada’s agriculture and food sector simply returned to historic levels, it would generate $28 billion in labour income, create 240,000 jobs and contribute $71 billion to GDP.

“That’s massive,” said Sobool.

“This is the opportunity.”

Inflation climbed to 3.2 per cent in May. FCC expects the full-year rate to end up at 2.7 per cent.

Energy price increases have yet to flow through the entire supply chain. There is typically a six- to 12-month lag for that to happen, so inflation will likely be pronounced again in 2027.

FCC expects the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate to remain at 2.25 per cent for the remainder of 2026, but it will likely experience two hikes in 2027, climbing to 2.75 per cent by the end of the year.

That is going to drive up both the variable and fixed rate costs of borrowing. The fixed rate hinges on the five-year Government of Canada bond rate.

“Debt is not going to get any cheaper,” said Sobool.

“The bond market is not a fan of tariffs and it’s not a fan of the U.S. debt, which is approaching US$39 trillion.”

The Canadian dollar is expected to continue trading in the US$0.72 to $0.74 range, which benefits exporters but not importers.

Trade uncertainty a certainty

Sobool said Trump’s decision to not extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) means there will be continued market uncertainty.

The good news is the agreement remains intact for the next 10 years, and 95 per cent of Canada’s agri-food exports are CUSMA compliant, which means they are tariff-free.

That’s a blessing because the U.S. market accounts for 61 per cent of Canada’s agri-food exports.

Despite all the diversification rhetoric, Canadian exporters will have a difficult time extricating themselves from the biggest economy in the world located right next door.

However, he believes there is an opportunity for Canada’s agriculture sector to expand processing and export more value-added products.

FCC recently created an in-house venture capital team that will be deploying $2.5 billion in equity investments over the next five years to help foster innovation in Canada’s agri-food sector.

Some of that money may flow to firms in other countries with the caveat that the technology they are developing will make its way back to Canada.

Sobool said the U.S. invests $23 in agriculture technology for every $1 spent in Canada.

Summer is also a great time for seasonal foods to be enjoyed while flavour is at its peak. There is nothing like fresh fruits, a cool watermelon and garden vegetables. Below, I have included recipes that will satisfy your gourmet instincts, but which can be served at a picnic, at home, a potluck or at the beach.

Watermelon Lemonade

Oh, so refreshing!

2 c. (500 mL) lemonade

3 c. (750 mL) seedless watermelon

1 c. (250 mL) crushed ice

Put all the ingredients into a blender. Mix until smooth and pour into glasses and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Amaretto Fruit Dip

My Mom has made this simple crowd pleaser as long as I can remember. Serve with fresh strawberries, grapes and pineapple or fruit of your choice.

1 package 4-serving size instant vanilla pudding mix

½ c. (125 mL) milk

¼ c. (60 mL) amaretto liqueur or fresh orange juice

1 500 mL container frozen whipped topping/Cool Whip, thawed

In a medium bowl, combine the vanilla pudding mix and milk. Add in the softened whipped topping and mix until smooth. Stir in amaretto. Chill at least two hours in the refrigerator before serving to allow it to thicken.

Note: I have also used whipped cream in equal amounts to the whipped topping. The results are just as tasty, but not quite as firm.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

A great way to get in your daily vegetable servings, this salad is very convenient as it can be made ahead of time.

3 c. (750 mL) cauliflower florets

1 c. (250 mL) broccoli florets

1 ½ c. (375 mL) cherry tomatoes

1 c. (250 mL) sliced onion

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 c. (250 mL) carrots, thinly sliced

1 ½ c. (375 mL) of zesty Italian dressing

Cut the cauliflower and broccoli into florets in a large sealable bowl. Add the cherry tomatoes, sliced onion, cucumber and carrot. Stir to blend well and pour dressing over top. Cover and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight. Stir well before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Note: You can also add fresh, sliced mushrooms, if desired.

Creamy Macaroni Salad

2 c. (500 mL) uncooked elbow macaroni

1 c. (250 mL) mayonnaise

2 tbsp. (30 mL) sweet pickle relish or finely chopped sweet pickles

2 tsp. (10 mL) sugar

3/4 tsp. (4 mL) ground mustard

dash of vinegar

¼ tsp. (1 mL) salt

1/8 tsp. (.5 mL) pepper

½ c. (125 mL) chopped red pepper

½ c. (125 mL) chopped celery

¼ c. (60 mL) chopped green or red onion

1 large, hard-boiled egg, chopped

2 tbsp. (30 mL) fresh chopped dill greens, optional

Prepare macaroni according to the package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Do not skip the rinsing; this will ensure that you get the right consistency. Cool completely.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pickle, sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the macaroni, pepper, celery and onion. Add dressing and toss gently to coat.

Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with egg and fresh chopped dill greens if desired. Makes 8 servings.

Saucy Burgers

These burgers are a decades-long repeat request. Originally from the rink kitchen in Fiske, Sask., this dish just simmers away allowing family and friends to eat whenever they are hungry. Complete the meal with a salad or fresh vegetables, and some fresh fruit and dip.

1 ½ c. (375 mL) ketchup

2 tbsp. (30 mL) Worcestershire sauce

1 c. (250 mL) water

¼ c. (60 mL) brown or white sugar

2 tbsp. (30 mL) dry mustard

Mix the ingredients together in a large casserole dish or slow cooker crock. Heat and add 6-8 cooked burgers to the sauce. Serve warm with fresh hamburger buns, a cheese slice and a dab of mustard, if desired. Oh, and a pickle!

Summer Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

A lovely way to use summer fruit in a dessert.

1 ½ c. (375 mL) graham cracker crumbs

¼ c. (60 mL) packed brown sugar

½ tsp. (2 mL) ground cinnamon

½ c. (125 mL) butter, melted

Filling:

2 packages (250 g) cream cheese, softened

¼ c. (60 mL) sugar

2 tsp. (10 mL) lemon juice

2 c. (500 mL) heavy whipping cream

Toppings:

4 c. (1 L) sliced, fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or fruit of your choice

Sprinkle of sugar

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, brown sugar and cinnamon; stir in butter. Press onto bottom and one inch up the side of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Gradually add cream; beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer to prepared crust. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

In a bowl, gently toss berries with sugar. Let stand for 15-30 minutes.

Loosen side of cheesecake from pan and remove rim. Serve cheesecake with toppings. Serves 8.

Rhubarb Cake

This is a family favourite when the rhubarb is ready to be picked.

½ c. (125 mL) butter

1 ½ c. (375 mL) sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla

1 egg

1 c. (250 mL) sour milk

1 tsp. (5 mL) baking soda

2 c. (500 mL) flour

dash of salt

2 c. (500 mL) fresh rhubarb, cut fine

Crumb topping:

3/4 c. (175 mL) brown sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Mix oil and sugar, add vanilla, egg and sour milk. In a mixing bowl, combine the soda, flour and salt. Add to sugar mixture and stir until combined. Fold in rhubarb and pour into a 9 x 13-inch (22 x 33 cm) pan. Mix topping and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake in heated oven for 35-40 minutes.

Note: You could also make this batter as a muffin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. (250 mL) butter, softened

2 c. (500 mL) sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp. (10 mL) grated lemon zest

3 tbsp. (45 mL) lemon juice

2 3/4 c. (675 mL) all-purpose flour

1 c. (250 mL) quick-cooking oats (I use old-fashioned)

2 tsp. (10 mL) baking powder

1/4 tsp. (1 mL) salt

Additional sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Then beat in eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice. In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt and gradually beat into creamed mixture. Refrigerate, covered, two hours or until firm enough to shape.

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Shape heaping tablespoons of dough into balls. Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass, then dip in sugar. Press cookies with bottom of glass to flatten, dipping in sugar as needed. Bake until edges are light brown, 6-8 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Makes 5 dozen.

The group’s 2026 annual general meeting in early July took place in Whitehorse.

The family-friendly event included local tourism opportunities as well as a presentation from the Yukon Agricultural Association.

The region’s modern agricultural history started with the gold rush at the end of the 19th century, YAA executive director Hanna Fish and president Cain Vangel said during their presentation.

Gold rush prospectors had to eat, and they weren’t familiar with the millennia-old hunting, gathering and food preservation techniques of the 14 Indigenous groups that called Yukon home.

Rich river deposits made for strong agricultural potential, and there were strong local markets with a glut of mouths to feed. Dawson City, the epicentre of the gold rush, was one of those areas with an abundance of soil.

The short-lived stampede of prospectors created a population boom of 27,000 people at the height of the good rush, 56 per cent of Yukon’s current population. By 1911, however, the population had dropped to 8,500, said Fish. Dawson City farmers were providing nearly all of them with local vegetables.

“Necessity shaped early agricultural systems,” said Fish, and there are plenty of stories of that, from failed cattle drives across the vast and dangerous Yukon wilderness to the creation and popularity of evaporated milk because it was a shelf-stable milk source for prospectors.

Outfitting is still a prominent industry in Yukon, and with that comes continued need for grazing, hay and food, said Vangel.

Soil wasn’t the only agricultural boon that rivers brought. The sternwheeler ships that dominated water ways during the gold rush provided shipping avenues to get food from growers to consumers, Fish noted.

The creation of the Alaska Highway, the 2,232-kilometre route from Dawson Creek, B.C., to Delta Junction, Alaska, changed that immensely following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the United States entering the Second World War.

“Transportation infrastructure has always shaped agricultural opportunity here in Yukon,” Fish said, and “logistics can redefine what is possible, shift priorities and, in Yukon’s case, this (the building of the highway) was away from local production and a bit more into increased mining efforts.”

Northern growth

Only two per cent of the territory’s 482,443 sq. km is suitable for agriculture, but that has just pushed Yukon farmers toward innovation, cold-hardy crops, empirical seed selection and attention to maturity dates, said Fish.

There’s only a 60- to 90-day growing season, even less in some regions. On the other hand, each of those days comes with a lot of daylight.

The Yukon’s agricultural network is small compared to other provinces, but the YAA has 115 members. They commonly advocate for more local food production, especially through their five per cent local campaign, wherein they encourage the Yukon government to be the prime customer of Yukon farmers.

Their efforts are paying off, said Vangel. Yukon agriculture has seen steady growth.

“Producers are diversifying, infrastructure is improving,” Vangel said.

“The demand for local food is stronger than ever. We’re seeing innovation in greenhouse production, livestock expansion, soil enhancement and value-added processing.”

Fish and Vangel’s stories resonated with everyone in the room, said Phil Nadalin, Ontario Seed Growers Association vice-president.

Ontario’s southwest corridor is basically the banana belt, said Nadalin. Farmers are growing a lot of high-heat-unit crops. To come to Yukon and see their limitations and challenges, but also their successes, is amazing, he said.

“The resiliency to just not give up is phenomenal,” he said.

• Read more: Farming in Canada’s north can take a real toll on mental health

Southern producers can learn from the Yukon, said Carla Ventin, a government relations expert who also spoke at the annual meeting. Ventin pointed to the support for local food production and local Yukon initiatives.

On the flip side of that, the connection to the environment is important to Yukoners, she said, and more provinces could mirror that relationship as well.

“There’s been past projects that have not respected that, and that is very emotionally felt and significantly felt with people who live in Yukon. There is a sense of the importance of caring for our environment … because it is our future, and I think there’s a lot of support for that in Yukon,” Ventin said.

During a panel discussion about geopolitics and how it’s impacting agriculture in Canada, Ventin mentioned Prime Minister Mark Carney’s shift toward agriculture as an important piece of Canada’s security and sovereignty. With recent conversations growing around Arctic sovereignty, the importance of food production is felt deeply in Yukon, Fish said.

“Historically, agriculture has always been a way to help populate and sustain communities. It supports the economic development and reinforces the long-term stability of these regions. It’s no different here in Yukon,” she said.

While the CSGA does not have any members in Yukon, Caroline Lafontaine, chief operating officer and interim executive director, said hosting the event there was a conscious and deliberate decision by the board because it provided members a chance to experience a different region of the country.

Biofuel captures one-third of Canadian canola acres.

Why It Matters: Major players in the canola industry have realized that the crop’s future is closely tied to demand for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.

In Canada, more than 30 per cent of the canola crop is used to produce biodiesel and renewable diesel.

“It is estimated that one in three acres of Canadian-grown canola ends up in the biofuels market in either Canada, the U.S., or the EU,” says Brittany Wood, senior manager for trade and transportation policy with the Canadian Canola Growers Association.

As Robert Arnason wrote for the Western Producer, the importance of biofuel to canola and what that means for canola use is pulling companies such as BASF into the public policy arena.

This February, BASF Agricultural Solutions Canada hosted a canola biofuel summit in Calgary that put growers, oilseed processors, biofuels processors and others in the same room.

“We’re doing advocacy … (to) see how we can advance the opportunity for biofuels,” said Raymond Daniels, sustainability market development manager with BASF.

“Our farmers can make incredible contributions from a climate perspective. How can the industry help advance that further via biofuels?”

The U.S.-Israel war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for much of 2026 has altered how countries think about energy supplies and security.

The war and the spike in petroleum prices has confirmed, for many nations, that government policies that support biofuel are necessary.

“It is very apparent that the energy security benefits of biofuels are being leaned on around the globe,” said Fred Ghatala, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada.

“Countries are realizing that energy security and biofuels go hand in hand.”

Sustainability is often associated with environmental outcomes, such as greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s more complicated than just the environment.

The three legs of the sustainability stool are “economics, (the) environment and social,” Daniels said.

Biofuel makes sense for policy makers because it can deliver results on those three outcomes, he added.

The economic piece has become critical for canola growers because biofuel demand is putting money into the pockets of farmers.

A CCGA study has determined that domestic biofuel policy in Canada is “estimated to bring nearly $600 million in value to farmgate prices in the 2025-26 crop year,” as stated on the CCGA website.

“That’s $27 per tonne, or $0.62 per bushel.”

It’s complicated for canola breeders, who must develop a crop that meets the specifications for multiple uses and multiple industries, but BASF isn’t planning to develop a canola hybrid that’s tailored to the biofuel market. When it comes to canola breeding, the main focus is yield.

“We look at the maximizing yield (as) the overall driver,” Daniels said.

“We’re always looking at, will continue to grow that yield curve for our (farmers).”

Commentary  

Crude oil futures represent the largest traded commodity in the world and have a direct impact on the consumption of vegetable oils. The link between the two commodities is the use of vegetable oils in the production of biofuels. This has sparked the recent rally in canola as crude oil futures have boosted the price of all oilseed crops.

Although biodiesel is a relatively new participant in the biofuel space, the global growth has been spectacular. Palm oil leads the way in biofuel use with the USDA projecting global use at 27.9 million tonnes or 35 per cent of the total palm oil use.

Soybean oil is the second-largest vegetable oil in the biofuel sector with 19.2 million tonnes of production used for biofuels and other industrial uses. Soybean biofuel use accounts for 26.3 per cent of the total use of soybean oil.

Not to be left out, world rapeseed oil (canola) use in biofuels is expected to increase to 10.7 million tonnes which accounts for 28.9 per cent of total global use. It is interesting to note that the estimated use of Canadian canola oil in biofuel production is higher than the global inclusion rate.

Canada is the largest exporter of canola and canola oil, which will be supported by increased global use of vegetable oil in biofuels.

Accelerating the use of biofuels is the current conflict in the Middle East. Not only has crude oil rallied, but diesel fuel and gasoline have been in short supply. The increase in diesel prices has encouraged the use of vegetable oils in biofuel. With the conflict restarting in the Middle East, one should expect this trend to continue, especially in Asian markets.

This Week in Agriculture

Meta to build C$13 billion Alberta data centre, its first in Canada

Why It Matters: AI brings new opportunities but also new challenges for Canadian farmers, including competition for land and resources.

Tech giant Meta announced on July 8 it will build a massive data centre in central Alberta, the company’s first in Canada, as it rapidly builds out computing capacity to support the global AI boom.

The 1-gigawatt data centre will be located in Sturgeon County and represents a total investment of C$13 billion, Meta said.

As Reuters reported, Meta has doubled down on AI, pledging hundreds of billions of dollars to build large AI data centres in the U.S. The Alberta announcement represents the company’s 33rd data centre globally.

Executives made the announcement in Calgary alongside Premier Danielle Smith and other Alberta government officials, who have spent several years courting Silicon Valley tech giants with the aim of spurring a large-scale investment in the oil-and-gas province.

Meta, like other tech giants, is facing rapidly expanding power needs due to the growth of AI, and Alberta is rich in natural gas, which sells at a significant discount to the U.S. benchmark.

The province’s cold climate also makes cooling the massive super-computers and related data center infrastructure more cost-efficient.

The 20 existing small- to mid-scale data centres in Alberta already pull from the province’s energy grid, which is 60 per cent powered by natural gas. The provincial government is giving new proponents the option to build their own power sources to avoid limits on power capacity.

Meta said July 8 it will fully fund new generation and grid infrastructure for its Alberta data centre, which will consume about as much electricity as 800,000 homes.

The company has partnered with Alberta-based Pembina Pipeline, which announced last week it will go ahead with its Greenlight Electricity Centre, a new natural gas-fired power-generation facility in Sturgeon County, which will be in service in late 2030 and with which Meta has a long-term tolling agreement.

The project will require approximately 150 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, according to Pembina, helping to create demand for Western Canadian natural gas producers.

Canada’s government laid out an AI strategy last month that suggested new data centre growth would benefit from the country’s clean electricity grid, which is largely powered by renewables and low-emission power sources.

But the vast majority of data centres currently in the planning stages in Canada are located in Alberta, where a reliance on natural gas means the emissions intensity of the province’s electricity grid is almost five times the national average.

World food prices ease for second month in June, UN’s FAO says

Why It Matters: Food prices are moderating, but the concern is that the higher transportation costs will continue to exert upward price pressure in the coming months.

World food prices edged lower in June as declines in sugar, cereals and dairy outweighed increases in vegetable oils and meat, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said on July 3.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 130.3 points in June, down from 130.8 points in May, reported Reuters.

The index had already fallen in May from a three-year high in April, when the Iran war led to a jump in vegetable oil prices.

The June reading was 1.7 per cent higher than a year earlier but 18.7 per cent below a record peak in March 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the FAO said.

The cereal price index fell 3.5 per cent from May. Wheat prices were pressured by rapid harvest progress and strong supply prospects in the Black Sea region, while maize slipped on ample South American supply prospects and weaker crude oil.

The FAO’s rice index, however, rose 3.2 per cent, supported by stronger Asian demand for Indica rice.

Sugar prices fell 5.7 per cent as lower ethanol prices in Brazil encouraged mills to use more sugarcane to make sugar. But concerns over the potential impact of El Niño on production in India and Thailand curbed the overall decline.

Dairy prices declined 1.5 per cent, pressured by increased supply.

On the upside, the FAO’s meat index rose 0.4 per cent from the prior month to set another record, led by poultry amid strong global demand.

Vegetable oil prices jumped 3.8 per cent, driven by higher palm and rapeseed oil quotations, partly due to biodiesel demand.

In a separate report, the FAO forecast global cereal production in 2026 at 2.983 billion tonnes, little changed from its previous monthly estimate.

The estimate was 1.9 per cent below the 2025 peak but would still be the second largest on record.

Indonesia says B50 biodiesel plan to boost palm oil use, cut fuel imports

Why It Matters: The impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will have many long-term impacts on trade flows. The Asian economies are very vulnerable to the energy crisis. Indonesia has responded to this crisis by increasing the biofuel inclusion rates. This will have a significant impact on vegetable oil use in the coming years.

Indonesia’s mandate to raise the biodiesel blend to 50 per cent palm oil-based fuel from 40 per cent will increase crude palm oil use to between 16.3 million and 17 million tonnes from 15.2 million tonnes, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on July 9.

The world’s largest palm oil producer last week launched its B50 biodiesel program, although industry participants are still awaiting revised biodiesel allocations from the government, as Reuters reported.

Bahlil made the remarks at a ceremony in Karawang in West Java province, attended by President Prabowo Subianto.

The program, among the largest mandatory biodiesel blending schemes, is designed to reduce Indonesia’s reliance on imported diesel fuel.

Prabowo said Indonesia was leading global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

He said he had pushed for a B100 mandate, but ministers had advised him that a 50 per cent palm oil blend was sufficient to eliminate imports. He added that authorities should continue pursuing a 60 per cent blend.

Bahlil said the government would begin research into a 60 per cent mix.

Raising the blend to 50 per cent is expected to reduce this year’s import bill by 170 trillion rupiah (US$9.41 billion), compared with savings of about 133 trillion rupiah in 2025, energy ministry data show.

Indonesia allocated 15.64 million kilolitres of biodiesel under its B40 program this year, 4.68 per cent above last year’s consumption of 14.94 million kilolitres.

Indonesia will require 16.7 million to 18 million kilolitres of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) under the new mandate, an energy ministry official said on July 9.

The ministry has yet to issue additional quotas for the B50 program.

Western Europe records hottest June on record, EU scientists say

Why It Matters: Record temperatures have had an impact on European production this year. Winter rapeseed, spring wheat and barley are the most susceptible and will see yields reduced significantly. The largest impact will be felt on summer crops such as corn.

Western Europe just experienced its warmest June on record, EU scientists confirmed on July 9, after an extreme heatwave at the end of the month smashed temperature records, disrupted power supplies and shut schools.

Last month was also the second-warmest June globally, and the planet experienced the highest June sea surface temperatures since records began, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.

As Reuters reported, the average temperature in Western Europe last month was 20.74 degrees Celsius, more than 3 C above the average for June during 1991-2020, the data showed.

Copernicus defines the region as spreading from Spain and the United Kingdom eastwards as far as Italy, Germany and part of Austria. Western Europe has now suffered three intense heatwaves in as many months, with countries including Spain and Portugal in the grip of another this week.

“June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing,” said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. “The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure across Europe and beyond.”

National authorities reported more than 4,700 excess deaths in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands during the June heatwave — with the total across other countries likely to be higher — while the intense heat also fuelled wildfires in Iberia and France and exacerbated drought conditions.

Greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from burning coal, oil and gas, have increased the planet’s average temperature to around 1.4 ‌C ⁠above pre-industrial times in the 19th century, according to the World Meteorological Organization. That higher baseline means temperatures can now hit higher peaks during heatwaves.

“The relationship between heatwaves and global warming is about as straightforward as it gets: on a hotter planet, there will be more heatwaves, and they will become more intense,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate scientist at Imperial College London.

Globally, C3S said other factors were at play in driving sea surface temperatures to a record high for June — including the development of a strong El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean.

El Niño did not contribute to Europe’s June heatwave, while climate change played a clear role in worsening the extreme temperatures, a scientific study after the event found.

Crop Reports:

Manitoba

Winter wheat and fall rye are both flowering in Manitoba, with the crop generally looking very promising, with strongyield potential. Many producers have already completed fungicide applications, according to the latest provincial crop report.

Spring cereals are mostly between the tillering and stem elongation stages, with the earliest fieldsreaching early heading. Herbicide applications are largely complete, and producers are beginning to focuson fungicide decisions for fusarium head blight. Some cereal disease symptoms, including suspected tan spot, continue to be observed, with increased scouting recommended as crop canopies develop.

Corn is generally between the V6 and V8 stages. Crop stands remain good across most of the region,although areas affected by excess moisture continue to show uneven growth and nutrient stresssymptoms.

Canola development has continued rapidly and is generally between the six-leaf and flowering stages, withthe earliest fields at 40-50 per cent flowering. Many producers are scouting using a sweep net for cabbage seedpod weevil, which has been observed feeding in large numbers in some fields on buds.

Sunflowers have reached V8 stage.

Soybeans are at the third to fourth trifoliate stage. The soybeans have yellowed from the excess precipitation, butmost fields are beginning to grow out of stressed conditions.

Peas are progressing well and have reached canopy closure in most fields. Peas are at the 10–12 nodestage to just beginning to flower.

Saskatchewan

Rainfall continued across many areas of the province in the week ending on July 6, with some regions also experiencing minor to severe hail. Producers are beginning to see the impacts of the excessive moisture received over the past two weeks, including yellowing and drowned out crops. Crop development is highly variable across the province depending on weather conditions in the area, with many reporting slower development. Regular rainfall events have also delayed spraying and haying operations.

The Calder area recorded the highest rainfall with 112 millimetres, followed by the Glaslyn area with 103 mm. The Radville and Churchbridge areas received 83 mm and 80 mm, respectively.

Due to differing environmental conditions around the province, stages of crop development are varying.

• Two per cent of winter cereals are at the stem elongation stage, eight per cent are at flag leaf, 56 per cent are heading and 34 per cent are at the dough stage.
• One per cent of spring cereals are pre-emergent, three per cent at seedling, 21 per cent tillering, 27 per cent at stem elongation, 34 per cent are at flag leaf and 14 per cent are at the heading stage.
• 24 per cent of flax crops are at the seedling stage, 62 per cent are at stem elongation, 13 per cent are flowering and one per cent at the boll stage.
• Eight per cent of canola and mustard crops are at the seedling stage, 27 per cent are at rosette, 37 per cent are bolting, 27 per cent are flowering and one per cent are podded.
• Two per cent of pulse crops are at the seedling stage, 52 per cent are at the vegetative stage, 43 per cent are flowering and three per cent are podded.

Alberta:

Crops in Alberta are said to be good shape despite well above-average rainfall during June, as per the most recent Alberta crop report.

As of June 30, the provincial agriculture department rated all crops at 68 per cent good to excellent, three points above the five-year average. However, northern areas were largely below average.

The spring cereals ranged from mid-tillering to early booting, the report said. Canola was in the four to six-leaf up to rosette stages. The dry peas were in the seven to 12-node stage, with some flowering.

The Alberta surface soil moisture rating was pegged at 79 per cent good to excellent with 16 per cent excessive moisture. The latter was significantly higher in the north.

Alberta’s pastures continued to see good growth and were well above their five-year average at 79 per cent good to excellent. By region, the central region was 94 per cent good to excellent, northwest 84 per cent, northeast 78 per cent, south 71.2 per cent and the Peace 47 per cent.

Miscellany

Argentina wheat harvest forecast raised to 20.5 million tonnes, exchange says

Argentina’s 2026-27 wheat harvest is projected to reach 20.5 million tonnes, the Rosario grains exchange said on July 8, raising its previous forecast by 500,000 tonnes due to an expanded planting area driven by favourable rainfall and lower fertilizer costs.

Argentina is a major wheat exporter, with farmers currently in the sowing stage of the crop.

“The wheat crop is generally germinating well in Argentina, with some yellowing from the cold, but in very good condition,” the Rosario grains exchange said in its monthly crop report.

The exchange kept its 2025-26 soybean harvest estimate at 51.5 million tonnes, with collection already complete, as Reuters reported.

The 2025-26 corn production forecast was maintained at 68 million tonnes, with harvesting still underway.

Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil and meal, and the third-largest exporter of corn.

Serbia to cull 11,000 pigs due to African swine fever, Tanjug reports

Serbian authorities have begun culling 11,000 pigs at a farm in the west of the country following an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), the Tanjug news agency reported on July 8, citing Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamocic.

As Reuters reported, the cull at the farm in the village of Hrtkovci is expected to take several days. Tanjug quoted Glamocic as saying the state would compensate the farm’s owners.

Serbia currently has several active ASF outbreaks. Thousands of pigs have already been culled over the past two months in the western Macva region, which borders Bosnia and Croatia.

ASF does not pose a risk to humans, but it spreads rapidly among domestic pigs and wild boar.

Manitoba golden nematode case sparks investigation

Manitoba’s first confirmed case of golden nematode has triggered more than movement restrictions and soil testing. It’s launched a race to determine whether the pest is confined to a single field or has quietly spread elsewhere in the province’s potato industry.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed June 17 that golden nematode, a species of potato cyst nematode (PCN), was detected in a potato field in southwestern Manitoba following routine soil testing conducted last fall for seed potato export certification, as Miranda Leybourne wrote for the Manitoba Co-operator.

While the discovery directly affects only one farm so far, experts say the biggest concern is whether the pest has established itself beyond the initially identified field.

“The fear always, when you have a first detection, is that it’s also in other places and you haven’t found it yet,” said Walter De Jong, a potato breeder and professor in Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science.

The uncertainty extends beyond the extent of the infestation. The CFIA says it does not yet know how long golden nematode may have been present in the field or how it was introduced.

Golden nematode attacks potato roots rather than tubers and can survive in soil for decades. Because populations can remain low for years before reaching detectable levels, the pest may be present long before symptoms or testing reveal it, De Jong said.

The CFIA has placed restrictions on the movement of soil, potatoes and soil-contaminated equipment associated with the affected field and is tracing other fields that may have been exposed through soil movement or seed potato transfers.

The Keystone Potato Producers Association (KPPA) says it is working closely with the CFIA and industry partners through the Manitoba PCN Working Group as the investigation continues.

Heifer retention to boost yearling prices

Jerry Klassen of Resilient Commodity Analysis in Winnipeg said heifer retention, along with higher prices for fed cattle and lower prices for barley, will cause yearling prices in Western Canada to hit historical highs in the first half of August.

Feedlots in central and southern Alberta are dealing with adverse pen conditions due to excessive rains. With lower weight gain efficiencies throughout June, feedlot operators could bring in fresh replacements.

On July 2, Alberta packers bought fed cattle on a dressed basis for between $590 to $600 per hundredweight delivered, steady to $5 per cwt. more than a week earlier.

Lethbridge feedlots bought feed barley for July delivery at $290 to $295 per tonne delivered, $20 to $30 lower than last month.

China buys five cargoes of U.S. soybeans

China’s state-owned trader COFCO purchased at least five cargoes of soybeans from the United States, totalling at least 300,000 tonnes, on July 6 for shipment between September and November, Reuters reported.

One trader said the volume could be as high as 10 cargoes or approximately 600,000 tonnes, shipped from the U.S. Gulf Coast and Pacific Northwest.

Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans this marketing year so far are down 47 per cent from a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Liver flukes: a hidden parasite spreading in Prairie herds

There are ever-increasing diagnoses of liver flukes in Western Canada. Liver flukes start as an unexplained death and a complete postmortem, where making many slashes through the liver will spot the adult flukes.

If you see one case, you must assume the rest of the herd has some level of infection, as veterinarian Roy Lewis explained in a column for the Glacier FarmMedia network. Death can be due to liver failure and the amount of liver damage done by the liver flukes or the association with Clostridium hemolyticum, or Redwater.

Liver flukes are more prevalent in wetter conditions and climates, as they rely on the snail as the intermediate host. Cattle manure from a fluke-infested animal will carry the parasite’s eggs back into the environment. If one cow is found dead with liver flukes, chances are other animals in the herd have a problem too.

The issue is then that there is really no reliable diagnosis until one closely examines a dead or slaughter animal and cuts sections through the liver, exposing the liver flukes. This helps further spread, but the snails are the multipliers that get the infectious parts into the water supply.

Always get autopsies done to determine death, but also to evaluate parasitism, mineral status, etc. Have your veterinarian do complete autopsies, and if anything unusual is seen with on-farm butchering, take pictures or videos and have the situation checked out.

Heavy rainfalls shrink Prairie farmers’ spraying windows

Weather delays this spring are making already tight spray windows tighter for farmers in Western Canada. Growing conditions started cold in the beginning of the season. Weeds were slow to emerge, complicating pre-seed herbicide.

Wet conditions across parts of the Prairies are forcing difficult calls on herbicide timing, as Miranda Leybourne reported for the Western Producer.

Central Alberta is unusually wet, and producers there are struggling with field access.

In central Saskatchewan, things were damp, but work was able to proceed through the latter half of June. That changed in the very last days of the month, however, with a new burst of severe weather that dropped heavy rain.

In Manitoba, producers are dealing with some very wet pockets and the aftermath of flood emergencies.

The delays are forcing some producers to stretch crop staging limits or reconsider whether to spray at all.

Canada’s trade surplus in May jumps to a four-year high

Canada’s merchandise trade surplus widened to a four-year high in May, rising for the fourth consecutive month, as exports to the United States topped their highest level since February last year, Statistics Canada data showed on July 7.

Canada clocked a trade surplus of $4.24 billion in May, up 0.9 per cent from a revised $3.41 billion posted in the prior month, Statistics Canada said.

This was the third consecutive month of trade surplus for Canada and was led by a 1.5 per cent jump in exports to the U.S., its largest trading partner.

Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the trade surplus to be at $2.85 billion.

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs slammed some critical sectors in Canada, businesses have been trying to diversify away from the U.S., which usually bought almost three-quarters of Canada’s total exports.

But trade experts have said that while diversification is important, it might take time for many to unwind decades-old supply chains from the world’s biggest market.

Ample Black Sea’s region harvest expectations drive down Russian wheat export prices

Russian wheat export prices continued to fall last week amid expectations of a good harvest in the Black Sea region, analysts said.

Early last week, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture reported that more than 1.2 million metric tons of grain had been harvested, with an average yield of 4.45 tons per hectare – 1.5 times higher than the same period last year, Reuters reported.

IKAR said the price of Russian new-crop wheat with 12.5 per cent protein content for free-on-board delivery in August was down $5 at $226 a tonne at the end of last week versus the week before.

SovEcon consultancy put last week’s prices for Russia’s new-crop wheat with 12.5 per cent protein at $227–229 a tonne, down from $233 the prior week.

Farmers getting less of the food dollar despite higher grocery prices: study

Rising food prices are not necessarily leading to higher prices for farmers, as their overall share of profits has not changed much over the past few years.

In data as of 2024-25, the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) found flour prices rose six per cent and a loaf of bread was up one per cent during the reporting period, while wheat prices dropped seven per cent. Farmers did see slight increases in their share for canola oil and retail pork, reported Karen Briere for the GFM network.

APAS tracks the farmer share of several food products by comparing the retail price with the producer price for the initial commodity. These include a 675-gram load of bread, three litres of canola oil, 907 grams of margarine, 900 grams of lentils, a 24-pack of beer and retail pork.

“Our data continues to show a consistent story…. Food prices are rising, but the farmer’s share is actually shrinking,” said APAS president Bill Prybylski. “

Weekly Markets

The Canadian dollar moved slightly higher this week with the loonie closing at 70.55 U.S. cents. The U.S. dollar traded sideways to lower this over the past seven days with the index currently trading at 101.01 points.

The breakdown of the peace deal with Iran pushed crude oil futures higher this week as the Strait of Hormuz was closed by Iran. The nearby August crude oil contract is trading just below the US$75 per barrel level. Stronger crude oil futures pushed soybean oil futures higher with the nearby contact trading at 70.55 cents per pound. Soybean futures gained 48 cents per bushel during the past week. Soybean futures were supported by the recent sale of soybeans to China. Soymeal futures also posted gains with the nearby contract up by US$6.20 per short ton during the week.

ICE canola futures were also supported by the gains in crude oil this past week with the November contract trading up by C$48.40 per tonne. Cash canola markets were sharply higher with values gaining C$51.83 to C$56.13 per tonne depending on location.

Minneapolis wheat futures posted gains of 12 cents per bushel last week. Chicago wheat futures closed the week up by eight cents per bushel while Kansas City futures gained 10 cents per bushel. Spring wheat cash prices in Western Canada posted gains of C$4.92 to C$6.88 per tonne.

September corn futures rose by 12 cents per bushel during the past week. Oat futures posted modest gains of 19 cents per bushel during the week. Cash oat prices in central Saskatchewan were unchanged during this week.

Cattle futures were under pressure last week and closed down by US$4.20 per hundredweight. Feeder cattle futures also pushed lower with losses of US$2.10 per cwt. during the past week. Nearby hog futures posted a strong gain of US$6.35 per cwt.

Charts and tables

Weekly Chicago July Corn Futures

Weekly Chicago July Wheat Futures

Weekly Minneapolis July Wheat Futures

Weekly Kansas City July Wheat Futures

Weekly Chicago Soybeans July Futures

Weekly ICE Canola July Futures

Editorial

Rain, rain go away

Another week and another bout of heavy downpours across Western Canada continued to add to the excess moisture issues in northern growing areas. The heaviest rains last week ranged from 50 to 100+ mm across northern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba. The bulk of the Prairie region received 15 to 50 mm during the past week, which added to the soil moisture levels. There were a few exceptions to the heavy rains last week, which was the western Peace River region, southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan. These areas received fewer than 5 mm during the past week.

The heavy rains brought the precipitation during the past four weeks to 75 mm to 125 mm across most of the Prairies. Western Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta have reported more than 200 mm over the past four weeks. These rains have caused additional flooding issues, which includes ponding in fields, overwhelmed ditches and road closures. The infrastructure damage from the last month of precipitation will certainly be substantial.

Of most concern is the damage to crops in the flooded regions. The acreage loss caused by the excess moisture comes from two main sources. There are losses of intended area that couldn’t be planted in May and June. Losses will also come to crops that were planted but have suffered permanent damage from the excess moisture. Even in cases where the crops survive, yield potential will be compromised by the excess moisture. The old adage that “rain makes grain” does not apply to crops that have been inundated for weeks.

The heaviest rains have fallen in some of the main canola-producing regions of Western Canada. Statistics Canada reported on June 30 that Canada was expected to plant a record 23.4 million acres. This was slightly above the 23.0 million acres planted in 2017. The excess moisture will likely pull the 2026 area down below record levels as the rains have prevented intended area from being planted in June.

The drop in sown area will likely be accompanied by a near-record abandonment of the canola planted area. The abandonment rates for canola have ranged between 2.6 per cent and 6.7 per cent in years where excess moisture or drought have caused large areas to be abandonment. Abandonment last year in the canola crop was only 0.6 per cent, which is slightly below the 10-year average of 0.9 per cent. Needless to say, the canola acreage loss due to abandonment will be more than four per cent this year.

The net impact of the wet conditions will take the potential for a record canola-planted area to an eventual harvested area similar to last year. Although yields will largely be determined by the weather over the next two months, the excess rainfall will also have a detrimental impact on overall yields.

There was a potential for record canola production in 2026, but the heavy rains this spring have essentially eliminated the possibility. Rains need to moderate in July and August in order to prevent further damage to crops in the northern Prairies. Rain, rain go away and come again another day!

Due to flight cancellations, Black was unable to attend in person but spoke via video chat about the recent work by the Senate’s agriculture and forestry committee.

The committee’s recent report, Critical Ground: Why Soil Is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health, was released June 6, 2024, and its main finding was that soils are under threat.

“Soils throughout Canada, and in fact around the world, are at risk, require immediate action to protect, remediate, preserve, and conserve our world soil,” Black said.

Soil degradation causes significant loss in yields, water content and biodiversity, he said, and according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, 2021 saw 30 per cent soil degradation around the world. By 2050, the UN is predicting that number to jump to 90 per cent.

“That’s a scary possibility that we need to work together to mitigate,” said Black.

Black said farmers already know about regenerative soil practices, including no- and low-till farming, cover cropping, input diversification and grazing management. Agroforestry has also had a “positive long-term impact on soil health in Canada when properly planned and managed.”

Not only does healthy soil management improve crop yields and profitability for farmers, but it also means cleaner air and water, mitigates the impacts of climate change and increases biosecurity and food security, the senator said.

Soil protection means long-term planning

The report also included 25 recommendations for the government to support soil protection, preservation and conservation, the number one recommendation being that “the government designate soil as a national strategic asset,” said Black.

“This requires a long-term strategy to protect and conserve soil across Canada, a strategy with concrete targets and timelines and provisions that are regularly reviewed.”

Other recommendations included the government recognizing concrete strategies and advocates, and collaboration between the federal governments, First Nations and the provinces and territories.

The Canadian government has agreed to the recommendations, but now they have to be held accountable, said Black. Prime agricultural land is often sacrificed for residential and industrial developments, especially during election time, he said, even though the government supports recommendations to protect agricultural land. Sacrificing agricultural land means sacrificing food security.

“We need to ensure that the value of preserving farmlands is kept front and centre in the minds of candidates when promises are made to build more housing,” Black said.

Bill S-230 is the act to bring the national strategy for “soil health protection, conservation and enhancement” into Canadian law. The bill passed first reading in the House of Commons on April 22, and Black expects it will be finalized by December 2027.

Despite the concerning predictions from the UN, Black said this gives him hope.

“We don’t have another 40 years, we’ve got 25 years or less … and for me, that keeps me up at night. A national strategy is just the beginning of a path to soil conservation in Canada.”

Treat the condition, not just the symptoms

Anytime something like soil health hits the political world, it increases awareness about the issues, said Kevin Elmy, a cover crop advocate for nearly 30 years and a regenerative agriculture coach.

However, he hopes it doesn’t get “bogged in regulations.” Regulation is needed, he said, but good policy needs grey areas for flexibility and context.

“Farmers want to do the right thing,” Elmy wrote in an email following his own presentation in Whitehorse, “but the financial stress is causing them not to allow change because of the fear of losing the farm. What if they do things differently and it doesn’t work?”

Elmy has developed five soil health principles that he shares with farmers in Canada, the United States, Australia and Ukraine to improve their soil health.

He said keeping a plant in the vegetative stage for as many days as possible through the whole growing season, increasing functional plant group diversity, reducing tillage, reducing reliance on synthetic inputs and incorporating livestock have all led to healthier soils for him and the farmers with whom he works.

The biggest challenge many producers face is treating the symptoms of poor soil and not the problem itself, said Elmy. Financial issues, yields, weeds and pests are all symptoms of a greater problem, he said, and treating the underlying problem of soils is a more effective solution that farmers can integrate into their operations.

“When we have an active and fully functioning biological system, it takes care of itself,” he said.

For seed producers, purity is their key concern, but that doesn’t eliminate cover cropping as a soil treatment option altogether, Elmy said.

Crops that don’t go to seed, as well as intercropped or cover-cropped plants that produce different sized seeds can potentially give seed farmers the benefits of cover cropping without affecting the quality of their product, he said.

However, these are also things they can practice on their commercial acres or talk about with their customers.

Elmy was a seed producer for 34 years and he knows it can be nerve-wracking to try something new.

Farmers can’t afford mistakes, he said, but a little bit of research and sharing knowledge with other farmers, knowing what they’re planting, what their goals are for their operation and their soil and how it will help their crops grow better and more sustainably can go a long way.

They wondered if bees were the answer. Back in university and throughout his career, Mike had a passion for bees. During his university years, he often made mead (honey wine) with a friend. Early in his and Judy’s marriage, Mike brought home a hive that a woman at their church no longer wanted.

Judy, on the other hand, was decidedly not passionate about bees. In fact, she was very afraid of them. But as she looked to their retirement years, there was a real buzz in the air directing next steps for their farm property, and what would become the award-winning Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm & Meadery.

Country Guide/Farm & Family caught up with Judy to chat about the farm, its future and the critical importance of bees to the food and farming industries.

Q: Was the decision to turn Mike’s passion for bees into an agri-tourism business post-retirement always a long-term goal?

A: As we faced retirement from busy careers, we knew that we needed to stay active and busy to be happy. We constantly thought about what we would do in retirement. We had lost our son, and our daughter was then travelling overseas.

Mike was passionate about bees (and so) the bee activity exploded to more than a hobby but not quite a business. We could either build it up to become a business or scale it back. The decision was to build it up, and we haven’t looked back. But (as to the question) would the farm be an agri-tourism business? No, we thought at first it would be a little country store with honey and some educational tours for the public.

Then we were approached by Tourism Abbotsford to participate in their launch of the Circle Farm Tour, which really helped (propel) us into the tourism world. That’s really how we got started. We were very happy we made the decision to be part of that.

Q: What is the size of your farm and what crops do you grow for the bees?

A: It’s 7.66 acres located southwest of Abbotsford. We have really diversified the land. It was marginal farmland, but over the last 37 years (that we have owned the farm), we have built it up. Our focus has always been on what we can add (for the bees). First, we started with staples like fruit trees and a variety of florals and wildflowers. As we learned more about honeybees, it expanded to more flowering trees, berry bushes, fruit trees, shrubs and maybe half an acre of flowers. I planted lots of sunflowers, and we have all kinds of trees that my daughter (Jenny) researched.

Q: Do you offer pollination services?

A: When we first started (the commercial bee business), Mike was pollinating up to 400 colonies with a colleague of his. They were pollinating farms growing blueberries, raspberries, cranberries and pumpkins. But we were badly affected by pesticides during pollination ten years ago. Our bees were coming home sick. I’m sure there were lots of reasons. We lost a lot of colonies. We concluded that the cost of pollination was more than we were making, so we decided to scale back, although we still pollinate pumpkins in the local area. We have reduced the number of colonies for pollination significantly. By cutting back, we don’t have to move (the hives) as much. It’s also a function of our age. It’s a very difficult job to move these hives.

Q: I could understand your fear of being stung by bees in the beginning. How did you overcome that?

A: I used to have a terrible irrational fear. (Years ago), a woman at our church needed to get rid of a hive of bees in her backyard. She asked Mike, and he pleaded with me to be able to bring it home. (At first) I said no way. He said it with his gorgeous red curly hair and blue eyes, arguing that it’s the Christian thing to do. So, I said okay, but put it right at the back of the property. He did, but within a couple of weeks the bees died.

Over time, the more I understood bees and the more I experienced them, I realized my fear was irrational. Now I don’t get stung at all. They crawl all over me. We often fear what we don’t understand. I will explain that to my students when they come here. We should never back away from our fears; we should learn from them. When we discover what our fears are, the fear goes away. That’s a really practical value.

Q: You offer a wide range of products, and your farm is among the most notable honey farms in the Fraser Valley to produce and sell mead (a.k.a. honey wine). How did you get started?

A: My husband was a charter student at Simon Fraser University (meaning that he was among the first students when the university opened in 1965). He studied history and he found an old turn-of-the-century doctor’s book. In it was a recipe for mead. It promised that you would have good eyesight, thick hairand it would prevent old age. The idea of mead intrigued him, and he made his first batch in 1967. When I met him, he wooed me with (mead) and we married! We continued to make mead throughout our married life.

Then, as we were thinking about retirement, we decided that bees, honey and honey wine would be a business. (Since retiring) we scaled up and developed the business. After formal wine studies at Washington State University and mead studies at University of California, Davis, I took on more of a lead winemaker role and made some changes to how our honey wines were produced. We have a nice niche. Over the years, we evolved the mead by making offerings of up to 30 varietals, and our style changed based on our experience with our niche consumer market. Now, people find us, they like our wines, they come back. We sell it off our farm.

Q: What varieties of plants do you grow on the farm?

A: Our daughter Jenny was funded for two Investment Agriculture Foundation grants for bee-friendly plantings, and she completed an organic master gardener’s program. She came up with an acronym to guide our planting and enhance our floral offerings for the pollinators … BATTSPV: Bulbs, Annuals, Trees, Tubers, Shrubs, Perennials, Vines. Within each category, there are scores of plants of pollination value to the bees. The huge variety of plantings we have on the farm provides diversity throughout the seasons not only for the honeybees but other pollinators.

Flowers for the bees, once pollinated, translate into food not only in the honey but also in the fruits and berries used in our honey wines. It reminds us how important honeybees, and pollinators in general, are to our food and beverages.

Q: You have earned a reputation for educating school children and the general public to help them understand the role and importance of bees as both honey producers and pollinators of crops and natural plant life. By extension, you value a sustainable environment. Can you share some thoughts on these values?

A: Mike was a high school teacher, and both of us, as well as our daughter, a trained English as a second language teacher, have graduate degrees. So, on our farm we have an educational focus. I believed that, if I could overcome my fear of being stung by bees, through education I could help others overcome their fears. And we would be able to help children understand the role of bees in the environment.

Mike has been active in both the Surrey and Langley Bee Clubs and served a term as second vice-president of the B.C. Honey Producers’ Association (BCHPA). He has also participated in research to enhance honeybee health.

We do lots of beekeeping workshops, and all three of us give classes. We teach how we work with bees and produce our products. We offer bee educational tours involving all ages, from three years to seniors. We offer school tours in May and June, summer Open Hive Days, a Hive to Home workshop, candle-making workshops, and classes for beginner beekeepers as well as those more experienced working with bees. Annually, we offer our BCHPA-certified beginner beekeeping course for those thinking about starting their beekeeping adventure. More recently, Jenny has taken on the educational arm of the farm.

Q: What’s next for the farm? Do you have further expansion plans either in fruit production or honey wine varieties?

A: We are presently focused on sustainability and a biodiversity plan. We have been approved for grants from the Investment Agriculture Fund to have contractors develop a biodiversity plan, a composting plan (and to conduct) a review to enhance on-farm irrigation.

We built the 6,500 square-foot on-farm country store some twenty years ago. It’s where we have the 1,000 square-foot country store, an education loft, honey extraction area, honey wine production and storage areas. We also installed a geothermal heating/cooling system. Solar panels were installed in summer/fall 2025 to further reduce our footprint. We will celebrate our 20^th opening of the store in February 2027.

With our biodiversity goal, we plan to use the remaining green space for additional plantings, a food forest (a diverse mix of mutually supportive fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs and vines which creates a self-sustaining ecosystem that yields a variety of food) and demonstrate to others how they can do similar projects — and all this with a focus on pollinator habitat.

We have a finite capacity given the land we have and the bees we support. The number of flowers you need to produce honey is huge. You need two million flowers for every 500 grams of honey they produce. But our farm is also about living a sustainable life, with the use of LED lights and solar panels, and we really focus on environmental biodiversity. Our goal is to master every bit of sustainability we can, and we are perfecting this while continuing to expand our wine selections. This is where we use our creative energy. We have a gradual growth that we’re happy with.

Because we work so closely together and we are a small operation, our success is based on working effectively as a tight unit. (And regarding) women in agriculture, I like to honour the women who are coming behind us, and our daughter is one of those special women.

Click here to read more of our coverage of women in agriculture to celebrate International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on July 8 for the two provinces warning about a “long duration heat event” beginning Friday afternoon and lasting well into next week.

“The timing of this could be pretty unfortunate,” said Ian Epp, an agronomist with SaskOilseeds.

“A lot of the crop is just getting into that flowering window.”

Canola is a cool-weather crop that starts to experience yield loss when temperatures reach 28 C.

Environment Canada is forecasting temperatures will reach 30 C on July 10, climbing to the mid-30s by July 12.

“Conditions will be particularly muggy this weekend, especially in regions along and south of the Trans-Canada Highway, with humidex values approaching 45 on Sunday,” the forecaster said in its statement.

The affected region includes most of the grain growing regions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, anything south of a line running from Meadow Lake, Sask., across to the top of Lake Winnipeg.

It will be particularly hot in southwestern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba.

The original forecast called for temperatures to remain in the high 20s to low 30s C next week.

However, the latest forecast calls for a cooling off to more normal temperatures in the mid- to high-20s next week.

Epp said that is a big difference because crops can probably withstand temperatures in the high 20s, but if the mercury remains in the 30s, that would be problematic.

Adequate to surplus soil moisture levels will help minimize any potential yield loss this year.

It is not like 2021 when high July temperatures combined with dry conditions to slash yields, said Epp.

But it is still not ideal timing for a heat wave.

“It’s definitely not a good thing,” he said.

• Daniel Bezte’s July 8-15 forecast: Looks like dog days of summer moving in

The extent of the damage will also depend on nighttime temperatures. Plants can recover from extreme daytime heat if nighttime temperatures are 16 C or cooler.

Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said overnight lows on July 12 are expected to be 18 C in Saskatoon and 19 C in Moose Jaw.

Extreme humidity will keep the temperatures high.

Epp does not know of any scientific data on what impact high humidex values have on canola yields.

But the muggy conditions could result in disease development in the crop canopy. He encouraged growers to stay on top of their sclerotinia risk assessment programs.

He also encouraged growers to be vigilant about scouting for cabbage seedpod weevil. He has been receiving calls from all over the province about that insect, including areas that don’t traditionally see it.

But when it comes to the looming heatwave, there is nothing growers can do but wait and see what happens.