Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Compared to seven days earlier, Alberta feeder prices were unchanged to $5 lower; however, the markets in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were down $5 to as much as $10 in some cases. Weakness in the yearling markets spilled over into the lighter […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market remains vulnerable
GrainCorp’s global malting spinoff gets shareholders’ blessing
Canada Malting to go to new owner, United Malt Group
Shareholders in the Australian owner of Canada’s biggest malt company have voted nearly all in favour of a spinoff for their worldwide malting assets. During their general meeting Monday in Sydney, participating shareholders in GrainCorp voted over 99 per cent in favour of resolutions which will see the company’s malt business become a standalone ASX-listed […] Read more
New feed and forage barley lines bring high yields, strong standability
‘Fast breeding’ means producers can expect to see varieties hit the marketplace in almost half the time
Reading Time: 3 minutes New feed and forage genetics are coming down the pipe for cattle feeders. At the end of February, the Prairie Grain Development Committee approved three new feed and forage barley varieties from the Field Crop Development Centre, as well as two triticale varieties that would be suitable for feed and forage. “Over the past couple […] Read more
Seed pilot project unveiled
The new Seed Variety Use Agreement (SVUA) pilot project, unveiled in Winnipeg Feb. 25, will demonstrate the benefits of farmers paying breeders a royalty for seed saved for planting. But the Prairies’ five wheat and barley commissions have “significant concern” about the project, they said in a news release. The SVUA pilot is being organized […] Read more
Wheat and barley groups eye merger
Committee to investigate pros and cons, with full membership of both groups to vote on the merger bid
Reading Time: 3 minutes After first amalgamating their administrative teams and then their senior management, Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley are now considering a full merger. But the notion of scrapping their individual boards and creating a single cereal crop board is still in its early stages, say the chairs of the two farm groups. “The resolution came up […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Softening barley market to stabilize
MarketsFarm — Feed barley bids in Western Canada have softened over the past few weeks, but should stabilize as the spring approaches. “I don’t think there’s a lot of potential to push this thing much higher, and I don’t think the bottom will fall out either. What you see is what you get,” Matt Froehlich, […] Read more
Lower grain production predicted from Europe in 2020
MarketsFarm — European grain production is expected to be down slightly in 2020, according to the first forecast for the year from European trade association Coceral. In the report, released Thursday, Coceral pegged total grain production for the European Union and United Kingdom in 2020 at 302.7 million tonnes, which would be down from the […] Read more
Opinion: On cereal commissions. Collaboration? Yes. Amalgamation? No
Sharing staff has been good for Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley, but having one board wouldn’t be wise
Reading Time: 3 minutes At FarmTech last month, the membership of the Alberta Wheat Commission passed a resolution to explore the possibility of one governance structure with the Alberta Barley Commission. Alberta Barley passed a similar resolution at its AGM in December. The exploratory process shouldn’t be clouded by turf wars on the employee side of things since the […] Read more
Strong export demand, acreage ahead for barley
Lower supplies from Australia benefit Canadian growers
MarketsFarm — Canadian malting barley acreage is expected to remain high in the coming year, mostly due to strong export demand. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Center in Winnipeg, said tough harvest conditions were partially to blame for lowered malt barley output in 2019. “We had a fairly lousy harvest, […] Read more
What are your barley research priorities?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute and the Barley Council of Canada are seeking producer input on developing a national research strategy for barley. A key objective of the National Barley Research Strategy is to identify, and quantify, the research of highest importance to farmers. The survey asks respondents about topics such as how […] Read more
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