New Equipment Helps Produce Growth in Cape Breton Agriculture

Nov 21, 2018

Mabou, NS – In Cape Breton’s Inverness and Victoria counties, industry collaboration is helping attract new entrants to the agricultural sector and is strengthening overall economic performance. Non-profit organizations like the Inverness/Victoria Federation of Agriculture work to improve collaboration, co-operation and consultation among industry members, through shared resources and knowledge transfer. Members of the Federation have a common objective to promote the sustainability of regional growth in the agriculture and agri-food sectors.

The volunteer-run association has served the agricultural community in the Inverness and Victoria areas for more than 80 years. Through the Inverness/Victoria Federation of Agriculture machine rental services, member farms are able to access specialized farm equipment to increase productivity and encourage innovative farming methods. The community-shared equipment helps to grow established farms and attract new producers by offsetting high start-up costs for new operations.

Rodger Cuzner, Member of Parliament for Cape Breton – Canso, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), announced a $183,720 non-repayable contribution through ACOA’s Business Development Program to assist the Inverness/Victoria Federation of Agriculture with the purchase of new agricultural equipment for community use.

The contribution will allow the Federation to advance and diversify its machine rental services to include new equipment and technology with BioSecurity features to prevent the spread of contamination between farms, increase operational efficiencies and streamline methods for collecting, clearing and processing crops.

The Province of Nova Scotia, through the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board, provided an $80,000 loan towards the project.

This investment builds on commitments made by the Government of Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces to drive economic growth in the region through the Atlantic Growth Strategy, which supports strategic investments that accelerate the growth of resource-based industries such as the fisheries, forestry and agriculture.

Source : Government of Canada

Video: U.S.-China Trade “Truce” + U.S. Fed Cuts Rates Again

The market was hoping for a US-China trade deal, but we got a trade “truce” for now from the keenly awaited Trump-Xi meeting at the APEC Summit.
China commits to minimum purchase commitments of 12 MMT of U.S. soybeans during the “current season” and a minimum of 25 MMT annually through 2028.
U.S. Treasury Sec Bessent said other Asian countries have agreed to buy additional 19 MMT of US soybean.
Soybean futures trading above $11 now- they normally tend to rally to $12.
As expected, US Fed cuts interest rates by -0.25% again in October to 3.75%–4.00%. No further cuts promised for this year but trade looking out to the Dec FOMC.
The Bank of Canada cut interest rates to 2.25% but raised concern over trade war damage.
Soy meal futures, remarkably, have had 14 consecutive higher close sessions. A bull market in soybeans is a bull market in soy meal!
Cattle futures lower as funds unwind out of cattle for now due to Trump headlines and objective to lower beef prices.
All major stock indices climb to new record highs. It was Mag 7 reporting week, which had mixed results. But we now have the first $5 trillion company in Nvidia!