Reading Time: 3 minutes Wait and hope. And test. That’s about all Alberta canola growers can do as what appears to be political gamesmanship by China plays out. News that Canada’s biggest buyer of the oilseed had cancelled Richardson International’s registration to ship canola prompted worried producers to call the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. “At first it was kind of […] Read more
Growers fear a China crisis over canola
Farmers are worried but quiet diplomacy is the best option, says Alberta Canola official
China stops buying Canadian canola
China has stopped buying any Canadian canola, says Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson. “The Chinese are unwilling to purchase Canadian canola (from any company) at this time,” he said Thursday. “Trade that was executed earlier is continuing. New sales are what appears to be affected.” Earlier this month China blocked canola imports from […] Read more
Canada working to end China’s canola block, Freeland says
Montreal — The Canadian government is working hard to reopen Richardson International’s Canadian canola markets in China, says Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs. “We’re working closely with Canadian farmers and Canadian industry,” Freeland said in a brief interview after speaking at the Canadian Crops Convention (CCC) here Wednesday. “Our embassy is very focused […] Read more
China’s block on canola seen as blowback from diplomatic spat
Montreal — Canola industry leaders attending the first Canadian Crops Convention here this week say they don’t know why China has abruptly blocked imports of Canadian canola from Richardson International, Canada’s biggest grain company. But according to a senior Richardson official it’s in retaliation to the diplomatic spat between China and Canada over the arrest […] Read more
Farm groups blast grain commission for refusing to give back surplus
Federal grain agency plans to spend $90 million on more services, but farm leaders want fees reduced
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta’s wheat and barley commissions and the Grain Growers of Canada are unhappy that the Canadian Grain Commission won’t be giving back $90 million in surplus service fees it collected from Prairie farmers. “Over the past five to six years, the Canadian Grain Commission has built up a surplus of funds based on user fees […] Read more
Grain commission tweaks grading tests for start of new crop year
New test for assessing mildew and heat/frost stress will prevent unnecessary downgrading of wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Grading factors for mildew and heat/frost stress when grading western Canadian wheat will be tweaked starting Aug. 1, the start of the 2018-19 crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission has announced. “It’s not a significant difference,” said Daryl Beswitherick, the grain commission’s program manager for quality assurance standards and reinspection. “The frequency of the factors […] Read more
Where did GM wheat found in Alberta come from?
So far, there seems to be no logical explanation on how the GM wheat came to exist
Reading Time: 3 minutes The mystery over how seven plants of genetically modified wheat wound up growing next to an Alberta field access road will take some time to unravel. This high-tech whodunit has regulators scratching their heads to figure out how a known glyphosate-resistance gene from Monsanto got into an unknown variety of wheat hundreds of kilometres from […] Read more
Japan still trusts Canadian wheat system, say officials
Country is a top wheat customer and will continue to be despite GM wheat incident, they say
Reading Time: 5 minutes Relationships still matter when it comes to trade, and Alberta officials say those will be key in re-establishing wheat sales with one of the country’s biggest buyers. No sooner had news broken that a small number of genetically modified wheat plants had been found in Alberta than industry reps were arranging to meet with officials […] Read more
Wheat shipment halt seen as temporary
Wheat sales are expected to soon resume to Japan and South Korea. Both nations suspended Canadian wheat imports following the June 15 announcement that Canada had discovered several genetically modified (GM) wheat plants in southern Alberta. But both are expected to come back to the market shortly, while exports to others won’t be affected, according […] Read more
Unapproved glyphosate-resistant wheat found in Alberta
UPDATED, June 14, 2018, 6:55 p.m. — Genetically modified (GM) wheat — which hasn’t been approved for commercial production in Canada — has been discovered in southern Alberta, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed. The wheat of unknown origin contains a genetic modification making it resistant to a common herbicide, CFIA told reporters Thursday. […] Read more
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