MarketsFarm — Canada’s pulse industry had to endure more than its fair share of challenges and obstacles in 2021, domestic and abroad. Nevertheless, the national organization representing pulse growers, traders and processors feels the industry will be strong in the New Year. An already tight supply situation became tighter in 2021 as drought in Western […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: New investments cause for optimism
Sector looking forward beyond challenges of 2021
Elevators hope mandatory vaccination doesn’t disrupt operations
New regulations will require all federally regulated employees to comply early in 2022
Canada’s major companies hope their operations won’t be disrupted when Ottawa requires federally regulated employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting early in 2022. “It depends on whether employees that aren’t vaccinated will get vaccinated, or would they leave their jobs,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) said in an interview […] Read more
Buyer found for ag retailer Blair’s contested outlet
ProSoils to buy Blair's location at Lipton, Sask.
Crop input retail chain Blair’s Crop Solutions has a deal in place to sell one of its eastern Saskatchewan sites to meet its obligation to federal regulators. The chain, a joint venture between Federated Co-operatives and the Blair’s Family of Companies, announced Monday it will sell its site at Lipton, Sask., about 80 km west […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Expect little movement in prices during holidays
MarketsFarm — There were no surprises for pulses in Statistics Canada’s latest production report, according to Marlene Boersch of Mercantile Venture Consulting in Winnipeg. With that in mind, she doesn’t expect any significant price changes for pulses. “Part of the reason is we’re starting to glide into the holiday period. We’ll probably see some movement […] Read more
Comment: A seed regulatory system that inspires trust shouldn’t be undermined
The system can be improved but not by muddying the waters with differing sets of standards
Reading Time: 3 minutes Instead of replicated trials, farmers will have to rely on re-tweets to figure out the best varieties for their farms if Seeds Canada has its way in changing the regulatory framework for variety registration in Canada. In an article on the seed regulation review in the Nov. 1 edition of this paper (‘Seed regulatory review […] Read more
CN again reopens Kamloops-Vancouver corridor
'Quite a bit' of traffic shifted to Prince Rupert
MarketsFarm — After recent heavy rains forced Canadian National Railway to close its Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor for a second time, the railway reopened its critical line to Canada’s busiest port on Sunday. CN spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis said the corridor was initially closed a second time during the most recent spell of heavy rains in southwestern British […] Read more
Alberta EFP links up with global sustainability program
You’ve likely never heard of the SAI Platform but its members are global food and beverage giants
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta Environmental Farm Plan has a new component that enables producers to qualify for a sustainability standard recognized by the food sector’s biggest players. “Producers can use this tool to receive credit for the global standard called Farm Sustainability Assessment,” said Lisa Nadeau of the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta, which operates […] Read more
CN rerouting trains, aims to re-open line to Vancouver on weekend
Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) said Wednesday it was aiming to reopen its track in the crucial Kamloops-to-Vancouver corridor in flood-hit British Columbia this weekend. The Pacific province, trying to rebuild after devastating floods in November, received more rain over the weekend and this week. CN operates one of the two critical rail lines […] Read more
Smaller crops likely in StatsCan survey-based report
MarketsFarm — Mindful of the summer drought conditions that seriously cut into crop production across the Prairies, average trade estimates call for downward revisions to Statistics Canada’s already-small forecasts for most crops when the it releases its first survey-based estimates of the marketing year on Friday. While prior reports, in September and August, were compiled […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Feed peas in short supply
Some feeders substituting soymeal
MarketsFarm — Hot and dry growing conditions cut into Canada’s pea production in 2021-22 — but the quality was relatively good, which means feed peas are in even shorter supply. “Yields were low across the harvest this year, but I’d say quality was quite good on yellow and green peas,” said a feed pea merchant. […] Read more
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