American Farmers Making Good Seeding Progress

May 13, 2021

Seeding in the U.S. is progressing rapidly.

Dan Basse is president of AgResource Company in Chicago.

"We've got a record seeding pace," he said. "We're now about 50 per cent done on U.S. soybean seeding, that's a record for this time of the year. Looking at about the 12th of May. We've got the corn seeding pace now exceeding 75 per cent as we would estimate it today, not a record, but well along. Dry weather has been kind, we need to see some rain in portions of the Northern Plains and Canadian Prairies, but other than that it's a relatively good start for U.S. crops as it sits today."

The USDA released its May WASDE report on Wednesday.

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Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.