Two Ontario ag organizations unite

May 23, 2018

The agreement will give processors a more unified voice on industry issues

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Two Ontario ag organizations will work together to streamline operations.

The amalgamation between Food and Beverage Ontario and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processors Association (OFVPA) will also help give members a more unified voice for industry issues.

“A number of the members of the OFVPA were already members of Food and Beverage Ontario,” Norm Beal, CEO of Food and Beverage Ontario, told Farms.com yesterday. “It seemed a little bit like both organizations were duplicating each other’s efforts so, this way, we can bring the interests of the industry under one roof.”

Changes in the industry are a key reason why the partnership is necessary, the groups say.

Some businesses have consolidated, some have relocated to the U.S. and some have closed.

The agribusinesses that remain open need reliable support, said Steve Lamoure, president of OFVPA.

“We want to be absolutely sure we are doing all we can to support our industry and strengthen relations across the supply chain,” he said in a statement last week.

OFVPA is joining Food and Beverage Ontario as members. OFVPA’s board will continue to exist and Beal will assume the role its OFVPA’s executive director.

He expects this new partnership will help fortify the relationships between all parties within the supply chain.

“We’re hoping to continue to build and develop new relationships with farmers, who are our members’ primary suppliers,” Beal said. “I think everyone believes the future of processing is strong in Ontario and that starts with our growers.”

A website for the amalgamated organizations will be online soon, he added.

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!

2018 soybean planting passes halfway point

Producers can learn to improve their farms at Expo