Recommended malting varieties list released

Recommended malting varieties list released

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre has released its annual list of recommended malt barley varieties. The list represents varieties that the centre recommends based on the greatest potential for performance, quality, and marketability. The recommendations are published annually with input from grain companies, domestic and international maltsters and brewers, grower associations as well as […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Low-quality feed being dumped on market

CNS Canada — Prices for feed barley and wheat don’t appear ready to spike anytime soon, as farmers across Western Canada continue to dump supplies containing high concentrations of vomitoxin and fusarium into feedlots. “Steady as it goes here is the tone,” said Allan Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. “We’re looking to clean […] Read more

barley in the hand

New leaders at Alberta Barley, Alberta Milk, and Grain Growers of Canada

New Year brings new faces on the boards and executives of farm groups

Reading Time: 2 minutes With a new year dawning, a host of producers are assuming farm leadership roles or taking on new ones. At Alberta Barley, Jason Lenz has stepped up to chair (from vice-chair) after Sylvan Lake producer and past chair Mike Ammeter “termed out” after serving on the board of directors for the last six years. “It’s […] Read more



New Crop Missions deliver many benefits

New Crop Missions deliver many benefits

The unique collaboration between the grain commission, Cigi, and farmers is more than just a marketing effort

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian cereals industry is united in reaching out to international customers. The 2016 Canadian Wheat New Crop Missions sessions kicked off on Nov. 10 with a seminar for Canadian millers, the largest buyer of Canadian wheat. By the time the missions are over later this month, they will have reached customers in 17 countries in […] Read more


A truck bears the logo of the Fortune brand, used by Cofco’s China Agri subsidiary to market rice and flour. (Cofco.com)

China shipping wheat flour to Canada

Chinese state-owned agrifood firm Cofco says it has scored its first-ever international sale of wheat flour — into the Canadian market. Cofco, which said in June it plans to open a Canadian grain trading office in Winnipeg, recently announced it had loaded a container ship at the northeastern port of Dalian on Nov. 17 with […] Read more

A canola field in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 5, 2016 after the area was blanketed by wet snow.  (Lisa Guenther photo)

Focus on quality, not quantity following StatsCan report

CNS Canada –– This year’s Canadian wheat production was up considerably from last year, according to updated estimates from Statistics Canada — but the quality of that crop remains questionable. All-wheat production (spring, winter and durum wheat combined) was pegged at 31.7 million tonnes in 2016-17, which compares with 27.6 million in 2015-16. Of that […] Read more


Because of rain or snow, crops in Alberta have suffered downgrades this year. On John Wozniak’s 2,500-acre farm near St. Paul, more than 1,500 acres of cereals remain unharvested — including this wheat field hit by snow in the third week of October.

‘Modernize’ grain grading, says Alberta Wheat

farm group says farmers would make more if Canadian grain Commission changes grading for sprouting and fusarium damage

Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta Wheat wants the Canadian Grain Commission to “modernize” its grading system, saying it doesn’t align with market demands of international buyers. “It all comes down to wanting more objective measurements for quality standards,” said Kevin Auch, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “We’ve got some pretty good grading standards — don’t get me wrong […] Read more

A canola field in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 5, 2016 after the area was blanketed by wet snow.  (Lisa Guenther photo)

Canadian wheat, canola crops seen weathering snow

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s wheat and canola crops withstood wintry weather that stalled the autumn harvest, and production topped last year’s output, according to Reuters’ industry survey of 13 analysts and traders. Statistics Canada on Tuesday will issue its final crop production estimates for the 2016-17 marketing year. The industry expects, on average, all-wheat […] Read more