New PC Ag Critic Named

Jul 07, 2014

On Friday, interim Ontario PC Leader Jim Wilson announced the Critic portfolios for the Ontario PC Caucus which included a change for agriculture. Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford, who has long served as the party’s agriculture critic has been moved to Municipal Affairs and Housing. The agriculture critic portfolio has been given to long time MPP for Haldiman-Norfolk, Toby Barrett, who will be addressing agriculture issues over the next four years.

Barrett says he is looking forward to serving in the role as agriculture critic. “I am very pleased with the appointment,” he said in an interview with Farms.com. “My background is farm-based,” adding that his family farm(s), where he grew up, are all still in the family. Both sides of his family continue to farm today. On his mother’s side, the 400-acre farm is located near Port Dover, ON., and has been in the Barrett family since 1796, a total of seven generations. “I am in a wonderful agriculture area,” he said.

Quick facts about the PC agriculture critic:

Barrett was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1995 provincial election
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science degree from the Ontario Agriculture College
He taught agriculture in the school system (high school)
He grew up on a family farm (mixed operation) – cash crop, beef cattle, dairy, sheep, and poultry
He is the past president of the Norfolk Farm Safety Association and the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture

Video: Is China Buying US Soybeans + USDA Nov 14th Crop Report could be “Game Changing”

After a week of a U.S./China trade truce, markets/trade is skeptical that we have not seen a signed agreement nor heard much from China or seen any details. There are rumors that China is buying soybean futures & not the physical. Trust in Trump?
12 MMT of U.S. soybean purchases by China by year-end is better than 0 but we all need to give it more time and give it a chance to unfold. China did lower the tariffs on Ag and is buying U.S. wheat and sorghum.
U.S. supreme court could rule against Trumps tariffs, but the Trump administration does have a plan B.
U.S. government shutdown is now the longest in history at 38 days.
But despite a U.S. government shutdown we will be getting a USDA November crop report next Friday and it could be “game changing.” If the USDA provides a bullish surprise with lower U.S. corn and soybean yields and ending stocks that are lower than expected both corn and soybean futures will break out above their ceilings at $4.35/bu and $11.35/bu respectively.
The funds continued their selling in live and feeder cattle futures on continued fears that the Trump administration want to lower U.S. beef prices. The fundamentals have not changed, only market psychology has.
Stocks markets continue to worry about a weak U.S. job market, but you can blame ChatGPT for that. In the future, we will have a more efficient, productive and growing economy with a higher unemployment rate until we have more skilled AI workers.
After 34 new record highs in the S & P 500 and 124 new records in the NASDAQ in 2025 we are back to a correction and investor profit taking as AI valuations may have gotten too stretched near-term ahead of NVDA’s 3rd quarter earnings announcement on Nov. 19th. But this is not an AI bubble.
75% of Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk!
It has rained in South America in the last 7 days, but both the American and European models agree that Central Brazil remains dry in the next 14-days!

Feds Provide $3.8M to Establish a Canadian Beef Centre

Grain Farmers of Ontario React to the Government’s Plan to Restrict Pesticide Use