The money has been lined up to fund a major expansion for a Winnipeg pea and canola protein processing plant that’s still being built. Merit Functional Foods Corp. announced May 4 it has secured a debt financing package of up to $85 million from “a syndicate of lenders” including Export Development Canada, Farm Credit Canada […] Read more
Plant protein processor backed for expansion
Lenders arrange up to $85 million for Merit Functional Foods
Pulse weekly outlook: Dry pea prices remain firm
Acres expected down from 2019
MarketsFarm — Prices for green and yellow dry peas remain fairly good, according to Dale McManus of Johnston Grains at Welwyn, Sask. Green peas are currently $10-$11 per bushel, which he said is a decent price; he also expects green pea acres to remain steady in 2020 compared to the previous year. The price for […] Read more
Producers needed for pea leaf weevil survey
Pest has been growing in numbers but surveying the damage they cause is challenging
Reading Time: < 1 minute Provincial agriculture staff are looking for producers willing to have their fields surveyed for damage from pea leaf weevil feeding in late May and early June. “If you are a producer who is planting peas in 2020 or an agronomist who has clients with pea fields, we would like the opportunity to visit your field,” […] Read more
Trade estimates vary ahead of StatsCan’s acreage report
MarketsFarm — Opinions are wide-ranging on what Canadian farmers plan to plant in 2020, ahead of Statistics Canada’s first round of acreage estimates, due out Thursday. Prior to lockdown measures put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, StatsCan was scheduled to release its first principal field crops area report for 2020 on April 24. […] Read more
Demand may encourage more red lentil acres: AGT
MarketsFarm — Improving lentil prices over the past month may encourage more acres of the pulse crop in Western Canada this spring, according to an industry official, as seeding is set to start within the next few weeks. “With the recent March demand surge, mostly due to COVID-19, pulse prices have increased sending a signal […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba pea plant construction continues
MarketsFarm — Work continues on Roquette’s pea processing plant at Portage la Prairie, Man., where the French plant-protein firm says measures have been taken to meet health and safety regulations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. “Beginning in early March we proactively started collaborating with contractors on COVID-19 prevention measures, such as increased cleaning of communal spaces […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Prices mostly steady ahead of seeding
MarketsFarm — As farmers decide what to plant in 2020, Dale McManus of Johnston’s Grain at Welwyn, Sask. hasn’t seen any significant deviation from what producers normally buy for pulse seed. “Red lentils, green lentils, green and yellow peas,” McManus cited among the pulses being purchased. Also, he noted, prices have remained quite steady in […] Read more
Fact sheets of pulse varieties available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Pulse varietal fact sheets are now available. “Important agronomic characteristics and disease-resistance information are provided for varieties of field pea, lentil, fababean, dry bean and soybean,” said Alex Fedko, crop research technologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. In 2019, 16 seed companies submitted entries for testing at up to 20 locations across Alberta and northern […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: U.S. bean acres to increase, other pulses down
MarketsFarm — Farmers in the U.S. intend to plant more edible bean acres in 2020, but will seed less area to peas, lentils and chickpeas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s prospective plantings report. Edible bean area in the country is forecast at 1.372 million acres, which would be up roughly seven per cent […] Read more
Pitch pays off for startup organic fertilizer maker
Fertilizer made from pea and lentil hulls wins supercluster funding and praise from environment minister
Reading Time: 2 minutes Apitch at an ag innovation forum a year ago has paid dividends for a Vancouver company that wants to make fertilizer out of waste material from pulse processing. Lucent Plant BioSciences and its partners — including pulse trader and processor AGT Foods — is receiving $1.3 million from the protein supercluster to help develop a […] Read more