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
‘Modernize’ grain grading, says Alberta Wheat
farm group says farmers would make more if Canadian grain Commission changes grading for sprouting and fusarium damage
Sylvan Lake farmer joins Cigi board at a critical time
Kevin Bender’s new role will involve sorting out funding and trade issues
Reading Time: 2 minutes UPDATED: Aug. 3, 2016 – Governance, trace residues, and falling gluten strength. Those are among the issues Kevin Bender wants to tackle in his latest off-farm role. The grain grower from the Sylvan Lake/Bentley area — already vice-chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission and its representative on Cereals Canada — joined the board of the […] Read more
U.S. pressuring Canada on grain grading
U.S. grain bought on spec, not grade, say Canadian grain industry watchers
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. officials say this country’s grain-grading system is to blame for why American farmers living close to the border can’t take advantage of higher Canadian wheat prices. But Canadian officials deny claims that Canada’s quality control system discriminates against imported U.S. wheat. Canadian officials concede imported U.S. wheat formally receives the lowest grade in the […] Read more
Prairie farmers seek answers to the $6.5 billion question
CNS Canada –– The Canadian Wheat Board single desk has now been gone for 3 1/2 years, but there are still some in the Prairie farming community who would like to see it brought back. Whether that’s actually possible is a question for another time — but the data being used to make the case […] Read more
What does your grain sell for at port?
When grain gridlock hit two years ago, the gap between the elevator and port price appears to have skyrocketed — and cost farmers billions
Reading Time: 4 minutes The jury’s still out on whether knowing the price of export grain relative to local cash prices will help producers get better prices. But the Alberta Wheat Commission intends to find out. “The port price would provide an indication of whether the system is constrained or functioning efficiently,” said Tom Steve, the commission’s general manager. […] Read more
Former UGG, CWB chief Lorne Hehn, 79
Lorne Hehn, at his funeral last week, was remembered as the Saskatchewan farmer-turned-businessman who led the Canadian Wheat Board toward its next-to-last incarnation as a farmer-controlled marketing agency. Hehn, who died Sept. 16 at age 79, had farmed at Markinch, about 65 km north of Regina, and was involved in several farm organizations, becoming a […] Read more
Farmers play last card in planned CWB class action
One claim remaining from an unsuccessful bid at a class action suit by four Prairie farmers, over payouts to producers from the former Canadian Wheat Board, will be the farmers’ basis for a new filing. The four farmers, whose previous proposed class action was dismissed with costs in April by the Supreme Court of Canada, […] Read more
Top court’s dismissal halts farmers’ suit over CWB assets
The bulk of a proposed class action by four Prairie farmers, over what they called the federal government’s “expropriation” of Canadian Wheat Board assets, has hit its final wall. The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday dismissed, with costs, the farmers’ application for leave to appeal their 2013 loss in Federal Court. The four — […] Read more
New wheat-marketing system isn’t just a mess — it’s a great big mess
With Canada’s wheat selling at a discount to Russia’s, it’s time to admit the new open market isn’t working as it should
Reading Time: 3 minutes Critics of the Canadian Wheat Board used to routinely point to published price quotes for U.S. Dark Northern Spring (DNS) wheat from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and assume that was a benchmark price for all wheat sold in the world. If the board got less, it must have screwed up, said the critics. In fact, […] Read more
Should Ag Minister Ritz tackle the railways next?
Gerry Ritz won the wheat board battle, now it’s time to find a fix for grain transportation woes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Gerry Ritz slew the Canadian Wheat Board, but can he rein in the railways? If anyone can, it’s Canada’s 33rd minister of agriculture. It won’t be easy, but neither was ending the wheat board’s 69-year-old monopoly. Ritz had help. Key was Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had a deep disdain for the board and made […] Read more
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