One of the world’s biggest grain companies is getting in on a processing facility under construction in Winnipeg to extract plant-based proteins from canola and peas. Winnipeg-based Merit Functional Foods announced Thursday it has received a $30 million “capital investment” from Bunge, giving the U.S. grain firm a “minority interest” worth 25 per cent. Burcon […] Read more
Bunge buys into canola, pea protein maker Merit
Agribusiness giant takes quarter stake in processor
Pulse weekly outlook: Harvest activity pressures lentils
MarketsFarm — With harvest activity beginning across most of the Prairies, pulse prices are experiencing typical harvest pressure. About 20 per cent of the lentil crop has been harvested in Saskatchewan, according to the province’s crop report from Thursday. The west-central region lagged furthest behind the province’s average rate, with just seven per cent of […] Read more
Nestle launching pea-based vegan alternative to tuna
'Vuna' going first to Swiss supermarkets
Zurich | Reuters — Food giant Nestle is launching a new plant-based tuna alternative in Switzerland this month ahead of a global rollout, hoping that consumers eating at home during the COVID-19 pandemic will stay eager to try new products. Known for Maggi soups and bouillon cubes, Nestle has been investing in plant-based food to […] Read more
Pulse weekly: Harvest pressure now hitting lentils
MarketsFarm — As the harvest begins to ramp up across Canada, lentil prices have begun to feel some of the downward pressure. However, to Marcos Mosnaim of Globeways Canada Inc. at Mississauga, Ont. there’s more to the recent declines. “We are feeling pressure from other origins. As United States green lentils are selling much cheaper […] Read more
Plant-protein processor’s new processing plant gets grant
Feds, province put up cash for new equipment
The federal and Manitoba governments have added a seven-figure contribution to their support for a new facility to process plant proteins from canola and peas. Merit Functional Foods will put the additional money toward “new equipment purchases that will support the transformation of raw inputs into value-added goods.” The unspecified new technology is expected to […] Read more
Pea crops strong, but prices falter
MarketsFarm — Pea crops across the Prairies are expected to be in good condition ahead of the harvest. “As we go along with the sunshine and heat, the pulses are coming in fairly quickly,” said Darwin Hamilton of Kalshea Commodities in Winnipeg. “Without any excess moisture, the quality should be good this year.” Pea prices […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea prices steady into harvest
MarketsFarm — The chickpea harvest is underway in some areas of the Prairies, including southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, where pulse crops were planted earlier due to drier spring weather. So far, the chickpea crop has seen co-operative weather conditions. “As we go along with this sunshine and heat, the pulses are coming in very […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market under pressure
Current crop up against disease issues
MarketsFarm — Lost demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping pressure on the Canadian chickpea market, despite disease issues causing problems for nearly a third of the country’s crop, according to an industry source. After disease caused problems for chickpeas in some areas of southern Saskatchewan in 2019, the radius of the problem area […] Read more
Video details pre-harvest timing for peas
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Pulse Growers has posted a video on its website on pea staging. The video by the organization’s research manager, Jenn Walker, looks at desiccation and pre-harvest timing. It was shot last summer in a field that had some areas where plants were about 80 per cent brown and therefore ready for desiccation. But other […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Good year for Alberta pulses, except in northern regions
MarketsFarm – Pulse crops are doing quite well in most of Alberta, according to the province’s agriculture department. However in the Peace River and northwest regions, the story has been much different. “This year, crop conditions are better than the five-year average in both the south and central regions. In the northern region, excess moisture […] Read more
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