MarketsFarm — Price movement for most western Canadian lentils held narrowly rangebound for the week ended Monday. Prairie Ag Hotwire reported most prices remained one cent per pound of unchanged. To Marcos Mosnaim of Export Packers, there were two central reasons for such sparse movement in lentils. “On one side… I will say the lack […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Lentils shift in narrow range
Farmers seen sitting on product for now

St. Lawrence traffic to resume as tentative labour deal reached
Deal goes now to ratification vote
A week-long strike by about 360 unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway ended Monday morning with a tentative agreement on a new labour deal. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and Unifor, the union representing the workers, announced the new agreement separately Sunday evening. Unionized workers had been on strike since just after […] Read more

Seaway strike backs up Ontario grain
Prairie grain may follow suit if strike backs up traffic via Thunder Bay, GFO warns
The nature of eastern Canadian grain logistics, and a strike by St. Lawrence Seaway workers who operate the system’s canals, will see cascading impacts across the system if the situation isn’t resolved quickly, according to Crosby Devitt, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario. Unifor workers in both Ontario and Quebec walked off the job Sunday […] Read more

Carbon tax exemption bill C-234 clears Senate committee
Divided senators defeated an amendment to make it more difficult to extend the bill's sunset clause
In final committee deliberations on Oct. 24, an amendment that would make it more difficult to extend the bill’s sunset clause was defeated with a tied vote.

Little change in AAFC’s October supply/demand outlook
Canola, wheat, pea carryout estimates unchanged
MarketsFarm — Supply/demand estimates for Canadian grains and oilseeds saw little change in the latest outlook for principal field crops from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) released Monday. Canola ending stocks for 2023-24 were left unchanged at one million tonnes, which compares with the 2022-23 level of 1.506 million tonnes. Canadian canola exports in 2023-24 […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Activity to ramp up for chickpeas
'Quality was good, yields were lower'
MarketsFarm — Things are quiet right now on the chickpea front, but that could change in a few weeks, according to Jake Hansen of Mid-West Grain in Moose Jaw. “I think everyone’s getting prepped and ready for Argentina’s harvest, but it’s quiet,” he said. “There’s still movement on previous contracts, but not a lot of […] Read more

Seed regulation consultation results released
CFIA 'anticipates' more consultations this winter
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is getting closer to updating its seed regulations. On Monday, the agency released a “What We Heard” report summarizing the responses of 315 individuals and groups who participated in an online survey from Feb. 15 to May 1. The CFIA is looking to update seed regulations to “reduce complexity, protect […] Read more

Seaway workers’ strike underway
Management awaiting CIRB ruling on grain traffic
Unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway walked off the job just after midnight Sunday, shutting the waterway to all cargo vessels including grain traffic for now. Unifor, which represents about 360 Seaway workers across five locals in Ontario and Quebec, had served Seaway management with 72 hours’ strike notice on Wednesday. In a release […] Read more

Seaway to seek order exempting grain traffic from strike action
Management, union say talks still ongoing
Facing a strike that would shut down traffic on the waterway as early as Sunday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. has asked for an order confirming that grain would need to continue moving. Unifor, the union representing over 360 seaway workers across five union locals in Ontario and Quebec, on Wednesday served the corporation […] Read more

Senate committee pulls barn, greenhouse heating from carbon exemption bill
Groups expressed disappointment over the amendment, which will also slow the bill’s progress
Groups expressed disappointment over an amendment to Bill C-234, which will not only remove barn and greenhouse heating from a proposed exemption from the carbon price but will also delay the bill’s progress.