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Agriculture Roundup for Monday June 6, 2022

Jun 6, 2022 | 12:03 PM

MELFORT, Sask. — The delayed start to seeding across much of the prairies is already raising concerns about potentially lower crop yields this fall.

Farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan got off to the slowest start since 2017 this spring due to rain, snow and flooding.

In Manitoba, seeding was only 40 per cent complete as of May 31, compared to the five-year average of 91 per cent.

In both provinces, many fields with low-lying areas are covered with standing water and will likely go unseeded.

A report by Raymond James analyst, Steve Hansen, said late seedings are often associated with late harvests and below-average yields.

Canadian farmers are under pressure to produce a strong crop this year as the war in Ukraine drives global fears about food security.

Milk prices in Canada could be going up for the second time in a year.

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has asked the Canadian Dairy Commission for a mid-year milk price hike due to the current inflationary environment.

The industry lobby group said farmers are facing substantial increases on the products they need to produce milk.

DFC said in less than a year fertilizer costs have risen 44 per cent, fuel is up 32 per cent and animal feed has increased eight per cent.

The Canadian Dairy Commission said it will hold consultations later this month and issue its decision around June 17.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) wants new gene edited foods to be properly and democratically regulated.

Health Canada announced how it will regulate foods from gene-edited plants. The NFU said the new guidance turns its back on science and transparency by exempting many new gene-edited foods from regulation.

In a statement, the NFU said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos decided to allow Health Canada to open the door for product developers to sell gene-edited organisms without any government oversight saying Health Canada has a duty is to protect and inform Canadians.

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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