Manitoba Co-operator — CWB isn’t a grain company on the auction block, it’s a company looking for a new partner, who along with farmer-shareholders, will help it grow to serve western Canadian farmers better. “I think there is a misunderstanding about what CWB is trying to do,” Dayna Spiring, CWB’s chief strategy officer said in […] Read more
CWB says it’s not for sale
Have you got green standing canola in mid-September?
Consider swathing canola now — or at least a few days before the next expected killing frost, according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s oilseed specialist Anastasia Kubinec. And if standing canola is frozen, be prepared to swath it as soon as possible, she said in an interview Monday. Swathing too soon can reduce […] Read more
Should Ag Minister Ritz tackle the railways next?
Gerry Ritz won the wheat board battle, now it’s time to find a fix for grain transportation woes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Gerry Ritz slew the Canadian Wheat Board, but can he rein in the railways? If anyone can, it’s Canada’s 33rd minister of agriculture. It won’t be easy, but neither was ending the wheat board’s 69-year-old monopoly. Ritz had help. Key was Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had a deep disdain for the board and made […] Read more
New biocontrol to fight fusarium in cereals
Using fire to fight fire, a new biocontrol product could be commercialized for use against fusarium head blight in a year or two. Adjuvants Plus at Kingsville, Ont. has reached a licensing agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to use its patented technology — a fungal organism called Clonostachys rosea, strain ACM941 — to […] Read more
Churchill open, hopes for record exports
The first ship of what’s hoped to be a record-breaking year was loading wheat at Manitoba’s Port of Churchill starting Tuesday. The M.V. Ikan Suji began taking on 32,500 tonnes of No. 2 Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat sold by Richardson International and destined for Mexico. Merv Tweed, president of OmniTrax Canada, which owns […] Read more
Grain commission bonding replacement plan stalls
After a year of negotiations to develop an insurance-based producer payment protection plan, the Canadian Grain Commission has called it quits, surprising and disappointing some farm groups. The CGC has been attempting to replace the current bonding system to protect farmers against payment defaults for grain delivered to merchandisers. It had been negotiating with with […] Read more
Grain drain — are carryover projections off the mark?
Canada will carryover more grain than usual when the crop year ends July 31, but analysts say it may be less than some people think. That mountain of Western grain created from a record harvest last fall, combined with poor rail service until spring, is being whittled away. In its July Outlook for Principle Crops […] Read more
Debunking myths around Canada’s UPOV ’91 legislation
Farmers can still save seed, but end-use royalties aren’t guaranteed, says Plant Breeders’ Rights commissioner
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers won’t lose the ability to save and reuse seed under UPOV ’91 and they won’t automatically be paying end-use royalties, the commissioner of Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Office says. “I hope to debunk some of the myths that are out there…,” Anthony Parker told the Prairie Grain Development Committee’s annual meeting in Winnipeg Feb. […] Read more
Push comes to shove — railways ordered to double grain movement
The federal government is promising a legislated fix to ensure railway performance
Reading Time: 4 minutes The railways have their marching orders — double grain shipments in four weeks or face daily fines of up to $100,000. But what happens next? Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says new federal legislation is coming, and farmers and grain companies are hoping it will do what the Fair Freight Service Act of 2012 didn’t — […] Read more
Grain handling firms rip CP chief’s claims
The organization representing the Prairies’ mainline grain handlers isn’t buying claims from Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s CEO about why the railway’s grain shipments are lagging. Hunter Harrison, in a full-page ad last week in Canada’s two national newspapers, said the harshest winter in 60 years, a record Western crop and grain companies not running 24/7 […] Read more
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