barley

Alberta Barley has three board and 17 delegate spots open

The deadline for nominations is Oct. 31 with the election taking place Dec. 8

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Barley is seeking nominations for directors and delegates. There are 20 positions available, including two directors (Regions 3 and 4) and one director-at-large (Region 1, 2, 3 or 6). Seventeen spots are available for delegates with at least one opening in five of the six Alberta Barley electoral regions. “Volunteering your time as a […] Read more



John Hamill was worried when he started harvesting his malt barley, 
but was surprised by the high quality.

Whew, there’s no malt shortage after all

Don’t cry in your beer — Alberta’s craft brewers have ‘lots’ of good-quality malt

Reading Time: 4 minutes Don’t worry — your favourite beer won’t be in short supply this year, despite recent reports that late-season moisture had seriously harmed Alberta’s malt barley crop. “The barley quality in 2016 is better than the 2015 crop, hands down,” said Kevin Sich, grain department manager at Rahr Malting near Alix. “If I needed a lot […] Read more

In a 2010 survey, fusarium head blight was found in 13 counties in southern Alberta. 
By 2015, the disease had spread north into 22 counties.

Even a dry year didn’t slow fusarium’s invasion

Many expected fusarium levels to drop last year, but instead it spread 
east and north and was worse in the south

Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite dry weather in 2015, fusarium head blight was found in almost twice as many counties as it was in 2010. A province-wide survey conducted by provincial scientists detected fusarium graminearum — the pathogen that causes fusarium head blight in cereals — in 22 counties in Alberta, up from 13 counties in the 2010 survey. […] Read more


Fusarium’s relentless march across the Prairies

Fusarium’s relentless march across the Prairies

Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s just a 47-second-long animation showing the incidence of a crop disease, but for Alberta producers it should come with a ‘disturbing content’ warning. The video, created by BASF Canada, uses Canadian Grain Commission data on the percentage of fusarium-damaged kernels in Canada Western Red Spring wheat found in its Harvest Sample Program from 2003 […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Oat crop quality varies with moisture damage

CNS Canada — Oat quality is mixed across Western Canada, one buyer says, as moisture caused damage to not-yet-harvested grains. “Any oats that are still out there that have had substantial amounts of rain are likely not going to make milling spec,” said Ryan McKnight of Linear Grain. The portion of production usable for the […] Read more


Mildew damage on individual kernels of CWRS wheat. (GrainsCanada.gc.ca)

Canada resets mildew grading standards on milling wheat

Canada’s visual grading standards for mildew in Prairie milling wheat have been relaxed to reflect what’s now known about the actual quality of affected wheat. The Canadian Grain Commission on Friday announced new mildew guidelines, “effective immediately,” for western Canadian milling wheat classes, to allow for an “increased presence” of mildew in visual guides and […] Read more



Wheat rep nominations open

Nomination forms must be received in writing by Oct. 31

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Wheat Commission is seeking two directors and three regional representatives in both Regions 1 and 5. Directors provide leadership, make decisions on behalf of producers, and implement the commission’s strategic direction by working with the management team. Regional reps serve on committees and provide input to the board. “It is a real privilege […] Read more

(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

Iran now self-sufficient in wheat, president says

New York | Reuters — Iran has become self-sufficient in wheat and aims to export wheat in the coming months, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday. “We had a good year that led Iran to stop importing wheat. We are planning to export wheat in the coming months,” Rouhani told a news conference on […] Read more