(Rahr.com)

Ameropa to shut malting barley trading firm Interbrau

Hamburg | Reuters — Swiss-based grain trading group Ameropa AG said Thursday it will end its involvement in malting barley trading and close its Hamburg-based malting barley trading house Interbrau GmbH at the end of 2017. “This decision is mainly driven by the fact that the malting barley market did not develop as Ameropa had […] Read more

Don’t delay if you haven’t lined up seed

Don’t delay if you haven’t lined up seed

All that rain last year has elevated fusarium levels and lowered germination rates

Reading Time: 3 minutes The quality of cereal seed in Alberta is down — and disease pressure is up — across almost all classes, say players at the front lines of the upcoming growing season’s seed outlook. “Disease levels are a little higher this year and that’s having an adverse effect on quality,” said Trevor Nysetvold of BioVision, a […] Read more


Fusarium graminearum produces DON or vomitoxin, which makes wheat unfit for milling and sees barley rejected for malt or even for feed.

Fusarium head blight infections hit record high in 2016

Almost one-quarter of cereal samples from 2016 have tested positive for fusarium head blight — a 10 per cent jump from 2014’s previous record high

Reading Time: 5 minutes Fusarium head blight continued its devastating march across Alberta last summer, and shows no sign of slowing down. “It’s become something that’s well established in the southern part of the province, and the situation is starting to change elsewhere in the province, especially central and northern Alberta,” said Kelly Turkington, a research scientist with Agriculture […] Read more

Farm groups welcome Ottawa’s research funding pledge

Farm groups welcome Ottawa’s research funding pledge

Agriculture Canada is giving positive signs that it will continue to invest in wheat and barley research

Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Feb. 6, 2017] – Federal dollars are key to barley and wheat research in Alberta. Fortunately, there are a lot of signs that the Liberal government is willing to continue investing in it. “We’ve been happy with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,” said Jason Lenz, chair of Alberta Barley Commission. The federal government has been […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Federal forecast sees more oilseed acres, less in grains

Canadian farmers are expected to cut back the summerfallow allocation and put more acres in production this spring, planting more of those acres in oilseeds and fewer in grains and pulses. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s market analysis group on Monday released an outlook for principal field crops which, assuming a return to average or trend […] Read more

Recommended malting varieties list released

Recommended malting varieties list released

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre has released its annual list of recommended malt barley varieties. The list represents varieties that the centre recommends based on the greatest potential for performance, quality, and marketability. The recommendations are published annually with input from grain companies, domestic and international maltsters and brewers, grower associations as well as […] Read more



Because of rain or snow, crops in Alberta have suffered downgrades this year. On John Wozniak’s 2,500-acre farm near St. Paul, more than 1,500 acres of cereals remain unharvested — including this wheat field hit by snow in the third week of October.

‘Modernize’ grain grading, says Alberta Wheat

farm group says farmers would make more if Canadian grain Commission changes grading for sprouting and fusarium damage

Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta Wheat wants the Canadian Grain Commission to “modernize” its grading system, saying it doesn’t align with market demands of international buyers. “It all comes down to wanting more objective measurements for quality standards,” said Kevin Auch, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “We’ve got some pretty good grading standards — don’t get me wrong […] Read more


Prairie barley growers have been supporting barley variety development for 
more than two decades.

Barley groups pledge $2.4 million for barley breeding

Thanks in part to producer funding, the Crop Development Centre has released more than 70 barley varieties

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Barley, its Saskatchewan and Manitoba counterparts, and the Western Grains Research Foundation will provide more than $2.4 million over five years to the barley variety development program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre. Since 1995, producers have invested almost $15 million into barley variety development through the research foundation. “This funding provides […] Read more

Three crop marketing pros share their No. 1 tip

Three crop marketing pros share their No. 1 tip

Reading Time: 3 minutes We asked the Hedging Edge experts for their No. 1 marketing tip for this fall. Here’s what they had to say. Neil Blue Provincial crop market analyst “My No. 1 tip — and this isn’t an earth-shaking one — is shop around. That means knowing your product first — getting a grade from potential buyers, […] Read more