Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial barley, wheat, and canola commissions have announced new directors. Tara Sawyer from Acme was acclaimed to the board of Alberta Barley as director-at-large replacing Brian Sewell from High River. Neil Gorda from Willingdon was also acclaimed as a director for Region 4. An election was to be held for the Region 3 director, […] Read more
Alberta crop commissions announce new board director lineups
Some well-known faces completing their final terms, including Jason Lenz and Gary Stanford
Prairie cereals summit coming in December
Event takes place Dec. 11-12
Reading Time: < 1 minute The second annual Prairie Cereals Summit will take place Dec. 11-12, 2019 at the Banff Springs Hotel. The event, put on by Alberta Barley and Alberta Wheat, will feature a presentation on international trade by former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. As well, former CropLife CEO Ted Menzies will discuss the creation of an agricultural […] Read more
Malt driving demand for soft white spring wheat
Soft white spring acres in Alberta have rebounded thanks to the craft beer movement
Reading Time: 5 minutes Soft white wheat acres are starting to creep up in Alberta, thanks to the burgeoning craft beer movement. “There’s been a growing market for malting soft white wheat,” said Geoff Backman, markets manager with Alberta Wheat and Barley. “It’s been driven by demand from the craft brewing industry, and that’s a nice value-added market on […] Read more
Alberta Barley, Alberta Wheat seek directors and reps
Reading Time: < 1 minute Both Alberta Barley and Alberta Wheat are seeking candidates for directors and regional reps. Alberta Barley has director positions open in Region 3 and Region 4 along with one director-at-large from either Regions 1, 2, 5 or 6. There are also 17 Alberta Barley delegate positions open in the six electoral regions. Elected directors serve […] Read more
Alberta reps to help chart Cigi course
Reading Time: < 1 minute Kevin Bender’s term as board chair of the Canadian International Grains Institute has ended but Alberta Wheat vice-chair Hannah Konschuh has been elected to the executive as secretary. The organization (which provides market development and technical support for Canadian wheat and other crops) is at a critical juncture as it works on details for a […] Read more
Cigi, Cereals Canada agree to pursue amalgamation
The boards of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and Cereals Canada have agreed to pursue amalgamation by March 31, 2020. That’s if a proposal, yet to be developed, is approved by the two bodies’ member organizations, leaders Dean Dias and Cam Dahl, said Friday in separate interviews. “During the past week, both boards have […] Read more
Study aims to get a grip on pricey grain drying costs
Tens of millions are spent on grain conditioning in wet years but data on how to trim that cost is lacking
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta farmers learned the hard way last fall that wet harvests go hand in hand with grain drying — and the costs that come with that. But Alberta’s main crop commissions are looking for ways to trim those costs as harvests trend later and the need to condition grain goes up. “There has been an […] Read more
Crop sector eyes code of practice to showcase stewardship credentials
The initiative has widespread support among farm groups and industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s early days, but work has begun on developing a code of practice for field crops — a move aimed at reassuring consumers that producers are using sustainable methods to grow food. “It’s basically on the idea level — we’ve done a little bit of work on what it could potentially look like, but it’s […] Read more
Could a wheat sample test put money in your pocket?
Buyers are increasingly using falling number to determine wheat’s value — but farmers don’t get paid for that
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta Wheat is hailing a move by the Canadian Grain Commission to consider making tests for falling number and deoxynivalenol official grain-grading factors. “We want the grain commission to make a whole bunch of changes,” said chair Gary Stanford. “We think the grain should be sold by falling numbers… Everybody wants to sell at Grade […] Read more
Seed royalties: We need to talk — some more
Speakers say more funding is needed for cereal breeding, but how to do that is up in the air
Reading Time: 5 minutes Something needs to be done to boost funding for cereal breeding, but kicking the contentious issue of seed royalties down the road seems to be the preferred option at the moment. That was the message coming out of a discussion on a pair of controversial royalty schemes at the recent Alberta Federation of Agriculture AGM. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
