Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley acreage buoyed despite current prices

MarketsFarm — International demand for Canadian feed barley has been strong thanks to a 2018 growing season drought in Australia that limited exportable supplies. China purchased nearly 950,000 tonnes of Canadian barley in the first seven months of the 2018-19 year, significantly above the five-year average. However, feed markets in general are quite sluggish ahead […] Read more

Parrish and Heimbecker’s domed grain terminal at Hamilton, in 2011. (ParrishandHeimbecker.com)

Parrish and Heimbecker to expand Hamilton flour mill, terminal

Prairie grain handler and processor Parrish and Heimbecker plans to become the single biggest user of Ontario-grown wheat with a major expansion of its newest flour mill. The privately-held Winnipeg company on Tuesday announced expansion work is now underway on both its mill and adjacent Lake Ontario harbour terminal at Hamilton. Few details were available […] Read more



Whether to go for malt or for feed is “a question a lot of farmers are asking themselves,” says the markets manager for Alberta Barley.

It’s not glamorous, but feed barley is a bright spot

Demand has shot up over the past year but there’s a caveat — China has been the big buyer

Reading Time: 4 minutes Barley growers will have a tough choice this spring: Target an oversaturated malt market or go for the red-hot one — feed barley. “It’s got to be a question a lot of farmers are asking themselves, especially if you’re in a region where feed and malt prices have been about the same,” said Geoff Backman, […] Read more


Four tips for better barley production

Four tips for better barley production

Four tips to better barley production Whether or not you’re using variable rate technology in your malting barley crop, it is important to use due care and attention when establishing the cereal crop, say two long-time Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers. John O’Donovan, now retired malting barley agronomist ,and Kelly Turkington, a plant pathologist with[...]
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Canada Malting’s processing plant in Montreal. (CanadaMalting.com)

Canada Malting to join GrainCorp’s global malting spinoff

The Australian owner of Canada’s biggest malt company plans to spin it off, along with its other worldwide malting assets, into a new stand-alone malt industry player. Sydney-based GrainCorp announced Thursday it plans to “demerge” its global malting business from its grains and edible oils business, forming two separate ASX-listed companies: MaltCo and “New GrainCorp.”[...]
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This graphic illustrates how the falling number test is conducted.

What’s the big deal with the falling number test?

Bakers and pasta makers prize wheat with a certain falling number as determined by this test

Reading Time: 2 minutes Even the best bread and pasta makers are at the mercy of an enzyme called alpha-amylase. The enzyme breaks down starch in wheat and converts it to sugars, but you don’t want too much — and the level of alpha-amylase in a batch can vary dramatically. And if there is too much, it’s a bad[...]
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