Reading Time: 2 minutes Unless there’s a miracle, Western Canadian farmers will harvest a much smaller crop this year compared to last and the five-year average, according to the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) forecast. The outlook won’t surprise farmers struggling through a colder-than-normal spring, late frosts and excess moisture in much of Manitoba, which has delayed seeding. The same […] Read more
Late Spring Dampens Forecast
Man. farmers working against June deadlines
The deadline for filing penalty-free excess moisture claims for unseeded acres in Manitoba is June 22. The final deadline, with a penalty of up to $500, is June 30. Farmers who fail to file by June 30 are ineligible for excess moisture coverage, according to Craig Thomson, Manitoba Agricultural Service Corp.’s (MASC) vice-president of insurance […] Read more
Push For GM Wheat Resurrected
Reading Time: 3 minutes Five years to the month after Monsanto shelved its controversial Roundup Ready genetically modified (GM) wheat, farm groups in Canada, Australia and the United States are pushing for the “synchronized introduction” of biotech wheat. The Grain Growers of Canada, Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) and Alberta Winter Wheat Producers Commission are leading the charge […] Read more
Grain Freight Charges Should Drop Next Crop… In Theory
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western farmers, on average, should pay 7.4 per cent less to move their grain to export in the 2009-10 crop year that starts Aug. 1 due mainly to lower railway fuel costs, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced April 30. Assuming normal grain shipping volumes, farmers collectively should, on average, pay $28.41 a tonne to […] Read more
No Clear Winner In Security Programs For Farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes “The grain marketing environment may be at a point in time where producer payment security is most warranted.” A report comparing programs to protect farmers against payment defaults when they deliver grain doesn’t reveal any clear winner. The evaluation also shows the current security system administered by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), which the federal […] Read more
Don’t reseed fertilized winter cropland to soy
Manitoba agriculture officials have two pieces of advice if you’re considering tearing up and seeding something else into that sad-looking winter wheat field this spring. First, have it assessed by Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) if you plan to collect crop insurance. Secondly, strike soybeans off your list of reseeding options if you’ve already fertilized […] Read more
KAP, WRAP, APAS Reach Farm Policy Consensus
Reading Time: 3 minutes “The federal and provincial governments all need to be working together towards the same ends.” – Greg Marshall The three Prairie general farm organizations have accomplished something rare among farm groups – common ground on farm policies. Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) hosted the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and Alberta’s Wild Rose Agricultural […] Read more
CGC Legislation C-13 “Dead Bill Walking”
Reading Time: 3 minutes Opposition parties have employed a rarely used parliamentary tactic to effectively kill the federal government’s proposed legislation amending the Canada Grain Act. Just as the government was preparing to move Bill C-13 for second reading and send it to the agriculture committee, the New Democratic Party agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko, supported by the Liberals and […] Read more
Monsanto Supports Wheat Research
Reading Time: 2 minutes Monsanto will spend $10 million over five years through an international scholars program to educate and train new public sector scientists whose mission is to boost wheat and rice yields. The Borlaug-Beachell International Scholars Program is named after Norman Borlaug, Nobel laureate and father of the Green Revolution Borlaug and Henry Beachell, another father of […] Read more
Oversold Biotech Hurts Plant Breeders
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Breeding has been hijacked by biotech’s bio-bulls–t.” – Brian Rossnagel Misplaced hype over biotechnology is making it harder to garner research dollars for good, old-fashioned plant breeding, a plant breeder with the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre says. “Breeding has been hijacked by biotech’s bio-bulls–t,” Brian Rossnagel told the Prairie Grain Development Committee’s annual […] Read more
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