The 'bacon bubble' that didn't burst Sunday, April 3, 2011 Last October, the Wall Street Journal announced that the "bacon bubble" was set to burst. Pork industry executives braced themselves for the worst, according to MeatingPlace Magazine, and it didn't come. Well, maybe on the "fine dining" side. High end restaurateurs had been putting bacon into everything, including cocktails.Otherwise, sales to middle and working class consumers continued upward, rather than dying off as expected after Labour Day.The Consumer Price Index for bacon was up 32.5 per cent from the previous October.Wendy's quick-serve restaurant ("fast food" is apparently now a pejorative term) expanded the use of smoked bacon from one to all of its sandwiches sold in the United States. Meat industry reports indicate that supermarket sales were up nearly three per cent measured in terms of dollars, while the volume of bacon sold was down by 1.7 per cent. (Wal-Mart does not submit sales figures and was not included.) BP Uncollectible loans and unsustainable agriculture Moving towards a national biosecurity standard
Farmers Balance Costs and Technology Investments - Tractor Sales Down Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Sales of agricultural tractors and combines in the United States and Canada delivered a mixed performance in February, highlighting how farmers are adapting their purchasing decisions amid shifting commodity markets, input costs, and economic conditions. While tractor sales softened... Read this article online
Sask. NDP wants tougher penalties related to foreign farmland ownership Wednesday, March 11, 2026 The Saskatchewan NDP wants foreign farmland owners who don’t obey the law to face stiffer penalties. Trent Wotherspoon, the party’s deputy shadow minister for agriculture and rural affairs, and the shadow minister of finance, introduced The Saskatchewan Farm Security (Foreign Farmland... Read this article online
Middle East conflict pushes fertilizer costs higher, forcing Ontario growers to rethink corn acres Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Ontario farmers are bracing for a turbulent spring as fertilizer and fuel prices surge in response to the escalating conflict involving Iran, a development that analysts say could reshape planting decisions across North America. The spike in nitrogen costs—the most critical and... Read this article online
Group calls on Health Canada to make labels mandatory for gene-edited pork Tuesday, March 10, 2026 An advocacy group of farmers and environmental organizations wants Health Canada to implement mandatory labelling on pork from gene-edited pigs. Earlier this year, the federal agency approved the sale of gene-edited pigs as food. The pigs are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and... Read this article online
Global Conflict Drives Major Surges in Commodity Markets Monday, March 9, 2026 A major international conflict the war in Iran has disrupted trade flows, pushing energy and grain prices sharply higher. On the weekly Ag Commodity Corner+ Podcast with Commodity Strategist Abhinesh Gopal shared the markets made sharp moves in the week of March 2 to 6, after a rapidly... Read this article online