Crops
CNS Canada — The ag industry hopes to confirm the size of the 2013-14 crop when Statistics Canada releases its latest stocks estimates for Canadian crops on Friday. The report will show ending stocks for 2013-14 as of July 31. Charlie Pearson, a crops market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Edmonton, said […] Read more
StatsCan stocks report to confirm size of 2013-14 crop
Cargill gains Ont. chocolate plant in deal with ADM
Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) exit from the chocolate processing business will see Cargill expand its own chocolate arm in Ontario. The two global grain and agrifood players on Tuesday announced an agreement in which Cargill will buy ADM’s worldwide chocolate business for US$440 million. The sale includes ADM’s chocolate plant at Georgetown, Ont., about 15 […] Read more
SW Ontario grain handler to change hands
The family-owned company behind what’s billed as Ontario’s biggest inland grain terminal is set to exit the grain handling business. The owners of Palmerston Grain — which operates from Palmerston, Ont. and handles wheat, corn, soybeans and canola through its 57,000-tonne capacity terminal at nearby Minto — have reached a deal to sell the business […] Read more
CropChatter: Why are my canola swaths turning black?
If your ripe canola looks like it’s covered in a black mould or soot, there’s good news and bad news. According to specialists on the Manitoba CropChatter site, the sooty growth is caused by fungi that only infect dead or dying tissue. That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is that so far, provincial […] Read more
Service to flag possible farm equipment safety issues
Farmers wanting to air concerns about possible safety hazards on new equipment now have another channel to move those issues forward. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) last week launched its “Speak Up For Safer Equipment” tool, an online form farmers can use to report safety concerns with farm equipment manufactured in the past five […] Read more
Prairie wheat bids hold steady
CNS Canada — Average bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat across Western Canada held relatively steady during the week ended Friday, with slight improvements in basis levels generally compensating for declines in the U.S. futures, according to average prices quoted from a cross-section of Prairie elevators. CWRS bids remain the strongest in Manitoba, […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat falls one per cent on fund selling, Ukraine shipments
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grains fell on Tuesday, with wheat futures down more than one per cent on pressure from plentiful global supplies and selling by investment funds on the first trading day of the month, analysts said. Wheat futures, which rose to a three-week high last Thursday on short-covering tied to escalating Ukraine-Russia […] Read more
Rain bogs down Prairies’ wheat, canola harvests
Winnipeg | Reuters — Rain has bogged down Western Canada’s harvest of canola, spring wheat and other crops, while cool temperatures slowed the growth of crops that need to mature before the first significant frost. Most of southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have received rain recently, with Manitoba’s Red River valley among the hardest hit […] Read more
Sask., B.C. reach deal on direct wine, spirits sales
Consumers in each of British Columbia and Saskatchewan may be able to order wine and craft spirits directly from the other province’s producers, starting next summer, without having to involve the Crown or third-party vendors. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced an agreement Friday they said will “lift barriers to consumers […] Read more
A lesson in (barley) emasculation
Reporter's notebook: Pollination and plant breeding at Lacombe Field Day
Reading Time: 2 minutes The more I learn about plant breeding, the more I feel I missed my true calling in life. And a recent attempt at crossing two barley plants at the Lacombe Field Day only fuelled my secret ambition. I worked with Laura Hoge, a germplasm technician at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, in a machine shed […] Read more