CNS Canada — Canadian farmers are showing an increased interest in seeding oats this spring, despite a lack of activity from a pricing standpoint, as quality concerns in wheat and barley have growers looking to other cereals. “We are seeing a huge influx of acres into oats,” said Scott Shiels, grain procurement merchant with Grain […] Read more

Wheat disease risk sees farmers looking to oats

Don’t delay if you haven’t lined up seed
All that rain last year has elevated fusarium levels and lowered germination rates
Reading Time: 3 minutes The quality of cereal seed in Alberta is down — and disease pressure is up — across almost all classes, say players at the front lines of the upcoming growing season’s seed outlook. “Disease levels are a little higher this year and that’s having an adverse effect on quality,” said Trevor Nysetvold of BioVision, a […] Read more

Battling fusarium requires new initiatives
Reading Time: < 1 minute Both the grain sector and government need to respond to rising fusarium rates, says the president of Alberta Seed Growers. One of the first things to do is recognize that FHB has become a significant problem and then create policies that do not unnecessarily penalize producers, said Glenn Logan. Read more: Don’t delay if you haven’t […] Read more

Four food firms said preparing bids for Weetabix
London | Reuters — The third-biggest U.S. cereal company, Post Holdings, and the U.K.’s Associated British Foods are among a group of four bidders vying for British cereal brand Weetabix, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. The 84-year-old business could fetch at least 1.5 billion pounds (C$2.48 billion), based on a valuation of more […] Read more
VIDEO: Canada’s agricultural markets update – January 25, 2017
Reading Time: < 1 minute D’Arce McMillan, The Western Producer markets editor, monitors trends in the North American and global agricultural markets. Each week he hosts a market video about crops. The video is designed to help viewers understand the forces responsible for changes in the trade.

Canada’s oat acres look to rise in 2017
CNS Canada –– Canadian oat acres will likely be up in 2017, as relatively favourable cash prices draw in interest from producers, according to an oats merchandiser. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) oat futures have climbed sharply higher over the past month, but are still trading at a discount to the relatively steady cash market. […] Read more

New Crop Missions deliver many benefits
The unique collaboration between the grain commission, Cigi, and farmers is more than just a marketing effort
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian cereals industry is united in reaching out to international customers. The 2016 Canadian Wheat New Crop Missions sessions kicked off on Nov. 10 with a seminar for Canadian millers, the largest buyer of Canadian wheat. By the time the missions are over later this month, they will have reached customers in 17 countries in […] Read more
The long harvest of 2016, no thanks to the weather
Alberta crop conditions as of November 29 (Final report of 2016)
Reading Time: 2 minutes The harvest season for 2016 was one of the longest ones on record. Some producers began harvest operations in the first week of August and were unable to complete it until the end of November, due to cool wet weather that delayed harvest progress. As of November 29, Alberta producers combined 90 per cent of […] Read more

Rising oats bids possibly nearing top
Commodity News Service Canada – Oats futures at the Chicago Board of Trade and cash bids in Western Canada have shown some strength over the past month, but may not have much more room to the upside. “There was a bit of a panic in late October that pushed cash prices higher,” said Scott Shiels, […] Read more
Cool, wet weather continues to slow harvest
Alberta crop conditions as of November 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although the province did not receive much precipitation over the last week, continued cool, wet weather conditions were enough to slow down harvest progress. Provincially, about 76 per cent of crops are in the bin, 14 per cent swathed and 10 per cent still standing. Producers in the Southern, Central and North East Regions were […] Read more