Reading Time: 2 minutes Some familiar faces have departed the leadership ranks of Alberta crop commission but some equally well-known ones — as well as some newcomers — are taking on leadership roles. Turin-area producer Kevin Serfas is the new chair of Alberta Canola. He takes over from John Guelly, who has been a director for Region 5 for […] Read more
Kevin Serfas and Robert Semeniuk new canola and pulse chairs
Three of the big four crop commissions have new leaders following recent annual general meetings
Pulse weekly outlook: Adversity bolsters chickpea bids
'Other crops just pencil in better'
MarketsFarm — Canadian chickpea prices have either stayed firm or slightly went up as the pulse runs into more than its fair share of adversity. Limited supply, reduced demand and environmental factors have all affected the long-term prospects of the crop at home and abroad, according to Colin Young of MidWest Grain in Moose Jaw. […] Read more
Visions of the future: Canada’s crop sector looks ahead
Four crop industry leaders share their hopeful vision for their sectors in the coming decade
Reading Time: 7 minutes As we leave 2020 behind us, it isn’t hard to see hope on the horizon. That’s the view of four producers who sit on the boards of the province’s big crop commissions and were asked to share their vision for their sectors in the next 10 years. More pulses, please Shane Strydhorst’s vision of a […] Read more
Four-way Seeds Canada merger approved
Four organizations to amalgamate in February without CSGA on board
A merger of four Canadian seed industry organizations has been cleared to proceed without its fifth partner. Members of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA), Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), Canadian Seed Institute (CSI) and Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) have voted in favour of amalgamation, the groups announced Wednesday. An inaugural board […] Read more
CFIA to consult on new near-meat, non-meat guidelines
Clarity for labels, promotion, composition to be considered
“Greater clarity” in federal guidelines for the makeup and labels of “simulated” meat and poultry products is the end zone for a new round of consultations underway for the next month. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday announced the launch for the public consultation, which includes an online survey and runs until Dec. 3. […] Read more
Happy accident: Researchers discover promising new seed treatment
How it works is still a mystery, but new compound boosts germination, root development, and resistance
Reading Time: 5 minutes Good things generally don’t happen by accident in science — they’re the result of countless hours of trial and error, replication and peer review. However, University of Saskatchewan researchers may be looking at the closest thing to a scientific miracle: A natural seed treatment that increases germination in just about any crop you can name, […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea production expected up in 2021
MarketsFarm — Following an expected 11.4 per cent drop in Saskatchewan’s chickpea harvest this year, provincial pulse specialist Dale Risula is expecting an increase in 2021. In Statistics Canada’s most recent field crop report, issued last week, chickpea production in Saskatchewan was estimated to have dropped from 224,600 tonnes in 2019 to 199,010 tonnes this […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea prices steady into harvest
MarketsFarm — The chickpea harvest is underway in some areas of the Prairies, including southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, where pulse crops were planted earlier due to drier spring weather. So far, the chickpea crop has seen co-operative weather conditions. “As we go along with this sunshine and heat, the pulses are coming in very […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market under pressure
Current crop up against disease issues
MarketsFarm — Lost demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping pressure on the Canadian chickpea market, despite disease issues causing problems for nearly a third of the country’s crop, according to an industry source. After disease caused problems for chickpeas in some areas of southern Saskatchewan in 2019, the radius of the problem area […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Good year for Alberta pulses, except in northern regions
MarketsFarm – Pulse crops are doing quite well in most of Alberta, according to the province’s agriculture department. However in the Peace River and northwest regions, the story has been much different. “This year, crop conditions are better than the five-year average in both the south and central regions. In the northern region, excess moisture […] Read more