Farmscape for March 28, 2025

A retired southwestern Manitoba Butcher suggests to minimise food waste and stretch their food dollar amid rising food costs, consumers should buy products on sale that can be frozen, buy products that can be used within a day or two of purchase and pay close attention to best before dates.
Tariffs imposed on Canadian agricultural products by China and the threat of U.S. tariffs are being cited as the one of the main drivers of food inflation right now.
Hubert Muckel, a retired southwestern Manitoba butcher-meat cutter, says for example the same fresh pork loin back ribs advertised on special yesterday in Brandon for six dollars a pound could be had for three dollars a pound six months ago and Manitoba grown tomatoes that he paid 99 cents a pound for last year are now two dollars and 99 cents.

Quote-Hubert Muckel-Retired Southwestern Manitoba Butcher:
Sometimes we have to buy a cheaper cut and buy local.
There's enough butcher shops in western Manitoba who are relying on the local economy.
So, buy local and if you have to go into a super market watch what you're buying.
Now is the time when everybody advertises if it was made in Canada or if it was not.
Buy what you can consume safely without wasting.
Buy something that's easy to be frozen or what you can eat within a day or two before it spoils.
Watch out for best before dates.
I was shopping yesterday and I bought some milk and I saw three different dates with a week's difference from one to another and it's the same two percent milk.
So, watch out what you're buying and if the stores don't control their rotations make sure that you don't pick something up and find out later on that it only had so many days left for the shelf life.

Muckel acknowledges it is hard to not select produce grown in the United States because Canada is not producing enough.
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Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers