grain sample dish

Learn the ins and outs of grain grading with ‘Making the Grade’

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Barley, the Alberta Wheat Commission and the Alberta Canola Producers Commission are holding a one-day workshop on July 28 to help producers get the best grade for their grain. Making the Grade will be held at Olds College and include hands-on sessions from experienced industry speakers on barley, wheat, and canola grading and agronomy. […] Read more



Feed processors operating in Canada may be brought into the Canadian Grain Commission’s producer protection program under Grain Act amendments tabled Tuesday in Ottawa. (Photo copyright Ronaldo Ronan Rufino, courtesy Alltech)

CGC producer protection being revamped, may include feed mills

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is considering adding feed mills to its producer protection program, as part of an overhaul of the program proposed in the federal government’s Bill C-48. C-48, dubbed the Modernization of Canada’s Grain Industry Act, got its first reading Tuesday in the House of Commons. Adding feed mills to the mix […] Read more

conference presentation

Wheat buyers pumped when Alberta farmers visit

Wheat buyers have all kinds of questions from mycotoxins and food safety 
to supply and crop data, and they also want to meet growers in person

Reading Time: 4 minutes When Lynn Jacobson went to Asia on a trade mission, he found his preconceived notions were completely wrong. “My preconception of what society was like over there was completely changed,” said the grain farmer from Enchant. “I thought they were 10 to 15 years behind us, but in some ways they’re 10 to 15 years […] Read more


Letter to the editor, Dec. 5, 2014

Rod Nickel’s article,“Canada’s wheat exports dogged by quality complaints,” incorrectly states that there has been an increase in the number of complaints from buyers of Canadian wheat since the removal of the single desk marketing authority from the Canadian Wheat Board. Since 2011-12, the last crop year that Canadian wheat was marketed through the Canadian […] Read more

grain elevators in Warner, Alberta

Demolition at Warner’s famed elevator row

With the loss of two classic pioneer sentinels Alberta’s pioneer heritage takes a serious blow

Reading Time: 3 minutes For Cody Kapcsos the shock of seeing the wreckage earlier this month at Warner was like looking at a once beautiful loved one and encountering utter physical devastation. “When I saw what happened to this iconic and beautiful row it was shocking to see, like someone whose beauty had long deserved admiration but now there […] Read more


red grain elevator

Historic grain elevator info now online

Peel’s Prairie Provinces now hosts the CGC’s Grain Elevators in Canada

Reading Time: < 1 minute Thanks to a partnership with the University of Alberta Libraries, data on grain elevators in Canada collected by the Canadian Grain Commission beginning in 1912 is now freely available online. Fully searchable, digital copies of these records from 1912 to 1998 are openly accessible via the University of Alberta Libraries’ website, Peel’s Prairie Provinces. These […] Read more

Protein data available

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian Grain Commission – Preliminary protein content data for the 2014 Canada Western Red Spring wheat harvest are now available by crop region. The data are based on samples received through the Harvest Sample Program and will be updated weekly. Go to grainscanada.gc.ca, type ‘protein content red spring wheat 2014’ and select the most recent upload. […] Read more


Farmers still waiting for better default protection on grain sales

Farmers still waiting for better default protection on grain sales

Leaving feed mills exempt from coverage under existing licensing 
and bonding puts farmers at risk to losses

Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2009, western Canadian farm groups submitted a report to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz outlining options for a program to provide security to producers when grain buyers default on payments. The main options were fund-based, insurance-based or bond-based programs. It was not that there wasn’t already a form of protection in place. The Canadian Grain […] Read more

 File Photo

Boost the bottom line with grain grading

The Canada Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program gives you an edge when marketing your harvest

Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to marketing, it’s important to know the product. And this is never more important than when selling crops. “Some crops are more complex than others to grade,” said Neil Blue, market specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Vermilion. “For example, canola is typically graded based on appearance, smell, moisture content, […] Read more