Winter wheat is at, or near the stage, for applying fungicides to protect it from various leaf diseases — and spring wheat isn’t far behind. According to Holly Derksen, a plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) at Carman, some winter wheat fields were at the flag leaf stage last week and […] Read more
CROP CHECKUP: Fungicide season has begun
Assess frosted crops before spraying herbicide
Some Manitoba crops were damaged by frost May 29 and early indications suggest most will recover, but where there has been damage farmers should hold off applying herbicides. Farmers considering spraying should wait 24 to 48 hours to avoid further injury, says Nasir Shaikh, a weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) […] Read more

CWB fleshes out wheat pricing options
Grain companies including the government-owned Canadian Wheat Board had new contracts and pricing options for Prairie wheat, barley and durum on display here at a recent farmer meeting as the open market approaches Aug. 1. So far, the new CWB will be the only company continuing to offer pooling options. Official told farmers it’s aiming […] Read more
Feds move again on “modernizing” Grain Commission
Regulatory makeovers for the Canadian Grain Commission are on the federal government’s radar, again. Last month the commission announced its latest proposals for "modernizing" itself and the Canada Grain Act it administers. The public has until March 23 to respond. The commission, established in 1912, is Canada’s grain industry watchdog, ensuring the quality of grain […] Read more
Saskatoon wooing grain export development agency
Fears that scrapping the monopoly-powered Canadian Wheat Board could undermine Winnipeg’s dominance of grain-sector office space have been bolstered, with news Saskatoon wants the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) to move there. The offer came Nov. 29 during a meeting with Saskatoon economic development group representatives, Rex Newkirk, Cigi’s director of research and business development, […] Read more
U.S. wheat wants access to Canadian elevators
Canada is considering changes to its wheat quality control system making it easier for American farmers to ship wheat north of the border after the Canadian Wheat Board loses its monopoly Aug. 1. "We are working on an initiative that will see the grading systems more in parallel," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told reporters Feb. […] Read more
Friends of CWB launch $17B class-action lawsuit
Reading Time: 3 minutes The wheat board’s single desk must stay or western farmers should get $17 billion in compensation for its loss, says a class-action lawsuit launched Feb. 15 against the federal government by four farmers with the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB). It’s the latest salvo in the fight against the Marketing Freedom for Grain […] Read more
CWB ready to compete, expecting to be profitable
The Canadian Wheat Board will succeed in an open market, its CEO Ian White predicts. "I’ve got no doubt we can run a viable business," White said in an interview in his office last week. "We hope it will be profitable in its first year. That’s what we’re targeting." The board always said the single […] Read more
Ritz to press CWB for interim no-cost buybacks
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has pledged to push the Canadian Wheat Board to allow no-cost buybacks for farmers who’d like to market grain ahead of the official end of the single desk. Ritz told the recent annual meeting of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association in Moose Haw that he would push for such […] Read more
Ex-CWB directors seek to shut down feds’ appeal
The legal battle over the Canadian Wheat Board has taken another twist: its eight fired directors are now looking to quash Ottawa’s appeal of a declaration that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz erred in deregulating the CWB’s marketing desk. Ritz introduced Bill C-18, the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, on Oct. 18. C-18 received royal […] Read more