In his research, Dr. James Vercammen analyzes the profound early impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural commodity markets, with a focus on soft red winter wheat. His study illustrates how uncertainty and shifting public sentiment during a global crisis can cause unusual pricing patterns, including short-term price spikes fueled by hoarding and longer-term declines due to recessions and declining demand. Futures and options trading, he shows, offer a window into the complex interplay of supply and demand, revealing not only how markets adjust in the short run but also how expectations shape volatility and long-term pricing trends.

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Dr. Gantois’s research aims to assess and address the human ecological footprint in natural and agricultural landscapes. She currently focuses on the biodiversity impacts and economic feasibility of different farming strategies, and on monitoring ecological outcomes at large scales. Her research combines approaches, data, and knowledge from economics and ecology primarily, with an emphasis on causal inference, but also draws from remote sensing and machine learning tools.

During his recent sabbatical, MFRE Professor Dr. Sumeet Gulati immersed himself directly in the environments and communities central to his research on human-wildlife conflict. By visiting villages and speaking with farm managers in India, he gained insights that shifted his focus from theoretical concerns about moral hazard to the very tangible impact of poverty on farmers’ ability to protect themselves, their livelihoods, and their families from wildlife damage.

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Dr. Wiseman is the Team Lead for the Canada’s Food Price Report. This report is collaboratively by Dalhousie University, University of Guelph, University of British Columbia, and University of Saskatchewan. Each of these universities contributes to enriching the report’s scope and regional expertise. The cross-country research team uses historical data sources, machine learning algorithms, and predictive analytics tools to forecast Canadian food prices.

The Canada’s Food Price Report (CFPR) 2025 forecasts that overall food prices will increase by 3% to 5%. The average family of four is expected to spend $16,833.67 on food in 2025, an increase of up to $801.56 from last year. Food prices increased at a slower than anticipated rate in 2024, however food affordability remains a major concern for Canadians.

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Dr. Margulis’ book, Shadow Negotiators (Stanford University Press, 2023), demonstrates that United Nations (UN) organizations have intervened to influence the discourse, agenda, and outcomes of international trade lawmaking at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

While UN organizations lack a seat at the bargaining table at the WTO, Matias E. Margulis argues that these organizations have acted as “shadow negotiators” engaged in political actions intended to alter the trajectory and results of multilateral trade negotiations. He draws on analysis of one of the most contested issues in global trade politics, agricultural trade liberalization, to demonstrate interventions by four different UN organizations—the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (SRRTF).

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