Canadian National Railway’s grain shipping is back to its pre-strike pace, the railway says. “By the second week of December (week 19), CN returned to shipping at peak levels, as well as taking on all customer hopper demand for the second and third weeks of December,” Montreal-based CN said in a release Thursday. “Despite a […] Read more
CN reports grain movement back at pre-strike pace
Elevator operators seek quick end to CN strike
The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) wants grain shipments on Canadian National Railway (CN) to resume as soon as possible. “It has a major impact for every day that we’re not moving grain on CN,” WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich said in an interview Tuesday. “A federal mediator has been appointed and that’s a step […] Read more
Knowing your wheat’s falling number critical this year
[UPDATED: Nov. 22, 2019] The ‘harvest from hell’ has resulted in one of the worst years in recent memory for sprout damage. That’s pushed down falling numbers and — since grain buyers have different approaches to handling this issue — increased the need for farmers to know the falling numbers for their wheat. But if […] Read more
Canada, China meet over canola stalemate
[UPDATED: Oct. 31, 2019] Glacier FarmMedia – Canada and China finally had a face-to-face meeting *Oct. 28 in Geneva on China’s de facto import ban of Canadian canola seed. The private consultation under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) went well, according to Brian Innes, the Canola Council of Canada’s *vice-president of public […] Read more
Grain Commission suspends ILTA Grain’s licenses
Farmers owed money for grain delivered to ILTA Grain Inc. should call the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The CGC on Thursday suspended the Surrey, B.C.-based company’s grain dealer’s license and its primary grain elevator licenses for elevators at Belle Plaine and Saskatoon, Sask., Remi Gosselin, the CGC’s manager of corporate information services, said in an […] Read more
Cigi, Cereals Canada agree to pursue amalgamation
The boards of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and Cereals Canada have agreed to pursue amalgamation by March 31, 2020. That’s if a proposal, yet to be developed, is approved by the two bodies’ member organizations, leaders Dean Dias and Cam Dahl, said Friday in separate interviews. “During the past week, both boards have […] Read more
USMCA ratification bill amends Canada Grain Act
U.S. complaints that Canada discriminates against its wheat will be addressed, if Canadian legislation to ratify the updated North American Free Trade Agreement becomes law. Bill C-100, the implementing legislation for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), received first and second reading in the House of Commons May 29 and last Tuesday (June 11) respectively. It […] Read more
SIDE-SWIPED: The stars are not lining up for Alberta farmers
A series of unforeseeable events has suddenly set the stage for a return to the bad old days of the 1980s
Reading Time: 5 minutes A pig disease that’s been around for a century. A new ‘tech cold war’ between Beijing and Washington. A mercurial American president who calls himself “the tariff man.” These are the unlikely set of factors that are threatening to pummel grain markets — and the incomes of Alberta’s grain producers. “I am not looking at […] Read more
Former CGC assistant chief commissioner broke conflict rules
Jim Smolik, a former Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) assistant chief and acting chief commissioner, contravened post-employment obligations under the federal Conflict of Interest Act while working for Cargill Canada. That’s according to a 24-page report released May 30 by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion. Dion ruled Smolik breached Sections 33 and 35(2) […] Read more
Canada gearing up to slap more tariffs on U.S. imports
Canada will update its list of U.S. imports, including farm products, on which it will place tariffs in retaliation to U.S. tariffs on imported Canadian steel and aluminum, David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said Monday. “The intention… is not to escalate anything but simply to do what we said we’d do — […] Read more
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