“Her dedication to advocating for farmers and her deep understanding of association governance will help guide the organization as it continues to address the challenges and opportunities facing producers,” GGC said in a news release today.

Sawyer, a farmer from Acme, Alberta, is the first woman to hold the role, GGC said.

Scott Hepworth, a farmer from Assiniboia, Sask., and a director with the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, was elected first vice chair. Sally Parsonage, a grain producer from Baldur, Manitoba and the secretary of Manitoba Crop Alliance, joins the executive as Second Vice Chair.

“With Tara Sawyer, Scott Hepworth, and Sally Parsonage at the helm, GGC is well-positioned to address critical issues in 2025 and beyond, such as advocating for fair tax policies, advancing trade opportunities, and securing reliable transportation networks,” said Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of GGC.

Andre Harpe is the outgoing chair. William van Tassel and Brendan Phillips were first and second vice chair, respectively.

The post Grain Growers of Canada elects new executive appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“The purpose of the durum production manual is to promote sustainable production of durum wheat on the Canadian Prairies and enable Canada to provide a consistent and increased supply of durum wheat with high quality to international and domestic markets,” the commission says on its website.

Along with an overview of global durum production and consumption, the 84-page manual has sections on planning, pest management, and “harvesting to marketing.”

The planning section covers variety selection, optimum crop rotation, planting dates and seeding rates, seed treatment, fertilizer management, and using precision ag tools.

The pest management section has articles on integrated weed management, controlling diseases, and reducing crop losses from pests.

The harvest and marketing section covers storage and a long-term look at sustainability and profitability.

Among the authors are Ross McKenzie, who worked as a provincial agronomist for 38 years for Alberta Agriculture; retired Ag Canada wheat breeder Ron DePauw; and a number of well-known Alberta crop researchers.

The free manual can be downloaded at saskwheat.ca.

The post Get the lowdown on growing and selling durum appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Three of the projects are on fusarium head blight (management, resistance, and post-harvest strategies) while four are either focused on, or have a significant component devoted to, improving the disease resistance and milling potential of durum.

Most of the funding ($2.07 million) is coming from Sask Wheat with the remainder from Alberta Wheat. The 11 projects will leverage more than $5.1 million in funding from all sources.

The post Wheat research receives funding appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Other research will look at the value of early fungicide applications, precision breeding, and nitrogen fixation in triticale and wheat.

The funding is channelled through the Ag Funding Consortium, a partnership of 13 organizations established to create a one-window approach for agricultural research and development funding in the province.

The post Crop Commissions to fund wheat research appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“The end of the western Canadian deduction is happening at the end of July — that was the checkoff money that was going to fund Cigi,” said Kevin Bender, who farms nears Sylvan Lake and has served on numerous ag boards.

“So that has been in the works for a while, like how are they going to transition out of that. And so this has been part of it where the commissions stepped up and said they were going to commit.

“I think initially it was 15 cents a tonne, but that isn’t a hard number. It’s going to be whatever the needs are. If it’s a little bit less than that or if it’s more, that’s to be discussed — but we’ve committed to 15 cents a tonne. It’s a matter of getting the grain handlers on side. They’ve come on board now, too.”

The three Prairie wheat commissions and seven grain firms have committed to providing $7.7 million over the next two years. (The grain companies are Richardson International, Paterson Grain, Parrish and Heimbecker, Viterra, Cargill, G3 Canada, and the Inland Terminal Association of Canada, which is composed of five farmer-owned grain terminal companies in Alberta and Saskatchewan.) The crop commissions and grain companies will each have five seats on the board.

“We are extremely pleased that the provincial wheat commissions and the grain companies and handlers developed a consensus on a sustainable funding and governance model for Cigi,” said JoAnne Buth, the organization’s CEO.

While Cigi is highly regarded, both in Canada and abroad, its long-term funding has been up in the air since the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board, which had supported the organization. Former federal ag minister Gerry Ritz created the Western Canadian Deduction in 2012 as an interim measure.

Although the new funding is only for two years, it’s expected that that joint farmer-grain company support will continue, said Bender.

“I can’t speak for them (the grain companies) but it’s maybe something that they’re saying, ‘OK, we see good value (and) then we’ll renew going ahead.’”

The new board will meet in the fall and undertake strategic planning, he said.

The other four farmer representatives are Gary Stanford, representing the Alberta Wheat Commission; Bill Gehl and Harvey Brooks of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission; and Drew Baker of the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association.

The grain company board members are vice-chair Brent Watchorn (Richardson International), Jim Smolik (Cargill Canada), Trent Rude (Viterra), Jean-Marc Ruest (Richardson International) and Ward Weisensel (G3 Canada).

Cigi provides applied research, training, and technical support services to drive development and use of Canadian crops — including wheat, durum, barley, canola and other oilseeds, pulses and other special crops such as canary seed and mustard — for domestic and export markets.

The post Prairie wheat commissions, grain firms to fund Cigi appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“Prince Rupert is a major opportunity — when we look at Pacific gateway access, we need a balanced approach between Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert,” said AGT Foods president and CEO Murad Al-Katib. “These are very critical elements for the next 40 to 50 years.”

Major grain companies have invested heavily in grain terminals at Vancouver, but more needs to be done, said Al-Katib, who in addition to heading one of the world’s largest pulse trading companies was a senior adviser to the panel that reviewed the Canada Transportation Act (CTA).

“We need to ensure the continued investments and port infrastructure improvements that have been undertaken by large players like Richardson’s, Viterra, and Cargill are continued,” he said. “They’ve done a great job of creating material changes in capacity at ports.”

In his recent economic update, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau pledged to spend $10.1 billion over the next 11 years on “more efficient transportation corridors to international markets.” The details won’t be known until the next budget, but the goal is to fix congestion and bottlenecks along essential corridors, transportation hubs, and ports that access world markets.

Rail lines to the Vancouver fit that bill.

“My understanding is that some of the areas that could use some attention have to do with the (Port of) Vancouver,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association. “We understand that there’s a tunnel and a bridge that need some work. I’m not hugely familiar with the specifics of what they need to debottle them. My understanding is that most of that would fall into Vancouver or just outside Vancouver and that’s where the focus would need to be in terms of debottlenecking the system with infrastructure dollars.”

But fixing problem areas to Vancouver isn’t enough, said Al-Katib. Rather, Ottawa should think strategically and long term, and that means moving more grain, oilseeds, and pulses through Prince Rupert.

“We need to utilize all corridors,” he said, adding, “it’s not just about the railways.”

“We have a tendency in our business where everyone just points at the link in the supply chain directly ahead or behind them,” he said. “Farmers need to plan and market into windows in the entire crop year. We’re not necessarily going to have the infrastructure to move the entire crop in four months a year. We have to use all the ports.”

The federal government should also look at leveraging its infrastructure investment by partnering with the private sector, said Al-Katib.

“One of the things we recommended in the (CTA) report was that the government should be looking at whether they can partner with industry on tax credits that would be aimed at first- and last-mile improvement infrastructure in rail,” said Al-Katib.

The CTA panel, led by former cabinet minister David Emerson, also controversially recommended lifting the revenue cap on CP and CN to encourage them to invest more, such as renewing the hopper car fleet, which is nearing the end of its useful life. Rail sidings, newer locomotives, and track improvements could also boost the capacity of the railways to carry more grain and other bulk commodities.

But the biggest requirement is a new mindset in the entire supply chain — one that encourages participants to work together and ensure everyone profits, said Al-Katib.

“Canada is a major supplier of grains, oilseeds, and pulses to the world and we’re going to grow further,” he said. “If we want to prepare for the next 30 to 40 years, we need to ensure that those infrastructure bottlenecks, policy, information, and surge capacity are all aligned to give us that predictable, efficient access to the world markets.”

And standing still could be costly.

Economists who conducted a study for the Saskatchewan Wheat Development commission found producers could lose about $10 billion if capacity isn’t improved over the next 10 years.

“Farmers uniquely feel the effects of inadequate capacity,” said Harvey Brooks, general manager of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission. “It reduces the on-farm price that they receive when capacity is rationed out.”

Morneau’s budget, which will spell out details of the $10.1 billion in transportation corridor spending, will be delivered in the spring.

The post Prince Rupert needs to be part of rail transport revamp appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The goal is to improve the quantity, quality and consistency of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat and in so doing increase returns to farmers.

In return participating farmers will get a report on the quality of the wheat samples they submit, plus a summary of all the results.

To start, all farmers have to do is fill out a questionnaire at and email it to glutenstrength@umanitoba.ca.

University of Manitoba cereal chemist Harry Sapirstein and agro-meteorologist Paul Bullock are investigating nine CWRS wheats: Glenn, Stanley, Utmost, Carberry, Brandon, Cardale, Stettler, Unity and Harvest.

“What we are hoping to see is about 100 farmers for each variety respond so we can pick the 50 who are most widely distributed for each variety,” Sapirstein said in an interview.

Selected farmers will receive a package containing background information about the project, an information sheet to fill out and a pre-labelled sample container for shipping at no cost. Farmers will submit two kilograms of wheat representative of the field on which it was grown.

“That will tell an interesting story in how much variation grain companies see when farmers deliver to their elevators,” Sapirstein said.

Customer concerns

The research was sparked by Canadian wheat customers who complained several years ago some shipments of Canada’s top-quality CWRS class wheat had weaker and more variable dough strength than normal.

“From what I hear (now) from my miller colleagues, they are seeing quite a lot of variability shipment to shipment from Western Canada whether their mills are in Eastern Canada or in Western Canada,” Sapirstein said. “This variability aspect of quality is not going away any time soon. “I think that part of the brand continues to be tainted a bit.”

Researchers have already identified that some CWRS wheats are on the low end of the acceptable range for gluten strength and some years weather conditions make it even worse.

Weather has a big impact on wheat quality, Bullock said. The grading and handling system can smooth quality variations but the trend to fewer, bigger elevators has resulted in less blending.

“The whole grain-handling system has moved to larger centralized points,” Bullock said. “The level of blending logistically has dropped. Now there is greater opportunity where regional difference in environment can actually cause greater variation in things like bread-making quality between shipments.”

In addition, wheat enters the handling system differently since the Canadian Wheat Board’s single marketing desk ended in 2012. Then wheats of varying grades and protein were contracted and delivered throughout the year. Now farmers can deliver all their wheat at once if they choose to.

“Now it could all go into a 100-car train… and shipment to shipment you have a lot more variability now in principle than what was happening under a delivery quota system,” Sapirstein said. “It’s very different grain-handling logistics now than in the past.”

Sapirstein and Bullock suspect some wheat varieties produce more consistent quality than others, despite variable growing conditions.

For example, does Glenn, known for its strong gluten strength, retain that strength better when the weather is poor compared to Harvest, which has weaker strength?

“This will be information that is valid in the short term and the long term moving forward,” he said.

The project is funded through a combination of public and farmer funds. Farmer money comes through the Western Grains Research Foundation, Alberta Wheat Commission, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association.

For more information email Sapirstein at Harry.Sapirstein@umanitoba.ca or Bullock at Paul.Bullock@umanitoba.ca.

This article first appeared in the Manitoba Co-operator

The post Prairie wheat growers wanted for gluten strength study appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

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.

“For farmers, it’s a tool to let them know whether to send their grain to port or whether there are more attractive opportunities.”

According to economist Richard Gray, Prairie farmers lost $5 billion to $6.7 billion during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 crop years because the export basis — the difference between the elevator price and the price grain fetched at the Port of Vancouver — soared to unprecedented levels. Using a mix of U.S. data (for grain exports at Portland, Ore.) and private estimates, the University of Saskatchewan economist concluded the average export basis from 2002-12 was $68 per tonne. But following the record harvest in 2013, Gray estimated it jumped to $162 per tonne for 2013-14 and $124 per tonne the following year (as the last of the bumper harvest was exported).

“Even for a smaller 1,000-acre farm, the income reduction would have been in the order of $120,000,” Gray wrote in a 2015 study for the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission.

That prompted Drumheller grain producer Darrell Stokes to put forward a resolution that Alberta Wheat Commission lobby government to require grain companies to report international sales prices to Cereals Canada. The resolution passed and will now be considered by the commission.

“I’m concerned because I feel farmers are being taken advantage of,” said Stokes. “This would be the first tiny baby step to maybe making it clear just how badly we’re being taken advantage of.

“What I’m looking for is to have transparency in terms of the pricing grain companies receive when they take a $5 bushel of wheat, take it out to the coast, and put it on a boat. If that number is $10 — and nobody knows that number because grain companies don’t give you that information — we would see that the grain companies are taking us to the cleaners.”

Sensitive data

However, there is a major roadblock to making this information public — it could compromise Canada’s competitive position.

“In the U.S., for example, grain marketers are required to report sales volumes on a weekly basis above a certain threshold,” said Steve. “That gives the trade an understanding of what proportion of the crop has been sold. However, they’re not required to report transaction prices. If that were to be the case in Canada, some would argue that it may put us at a competitive disadvantage.”

The Alberta Wheat Commission is examining if there is some way it might have an indication of export basis on its Price and Data Quotes (PDQ) website.

“If you provide actual sales data that starts to get into competitive sensitivity issues — where your competitors know what the price of wheat or canola is in Vancouver — they can react accordingly,” said Steve. “With PDQ, we report an average of all the prices. Whether or not it would be to our advantage to report port price sales is something the industry needs to discuss and debate.”

Another roadblock would be getting this data in the first place.

“It’s a corporate secret. They’re under no obligation to tell us,” noted Stokes. “They take (the grain), it’s theirs now, they can sell it for whatever they choose, and they have no obligation to tell us what they sold it for.

“I’m hoping that farmers start to get upset about that. There are a lot of people who think things are all perfect now — they can forward contract and buy futures — but in my thinking, farmers keep getting the short end of the stick.”

Data gaps

Port basis is not the only data missing in the grain export system, said Steve.

“There’s no requirement in Canada for grain handlers or exporters to report sales volumes in a timely fashion,” he said. “Some of that data is collected by the Canadian Grain Commission but it is very dated — usually 1-1/2 to two months old by the time it’s available.

“In the U.S. there is a requirement that export sales be reported weekly and, for sales over 100,000 tons, reported immediately. That type of information here would help Canadian producers understand what percentage of the crop has been sold and potentially the value of their grain. Information is power.”

The PDQ website is an attempt to put some of that power into producers’ hands.

It currently offers benchmark prices for four crops covering eight zones throughout Western Canada. The market data is provided by grain buyers licensed with the Canadian Grain Commission and averaged by region before posting. The commission is still refining the site. For example, it uses the wheat futures market in Minneapolis to get prices for Canadian hard red spring wheat.

“So on our site, and many grain company websites, the futures value is shown in U.S. dollars and the Canadian price is in Canadian dollars, which creates a lot of confusion as to the basis level when you’re comparing U.S. currency to Canadian currency,” said Steve.

And market data can only get you so far as better information alone won’t address Canadian producers’ export challenges.

“In terms of exporting grain, a big challenge is still our transportation system,” said Steve.

That’s why the entire grain industry is anxiously awaiting the recommendations from a review of the Canada Transportation Act. The report from the 18-month-long review, headed by former federal industry minister David Emerson, was to be given to the federal government last month and is expected to be made public in February or March.

“We’re looking forward to seeing what enhancements can be made to the transportation system in order to ensure that that gap doesn’t get too wide during times of shortage of capacity,” said Steve.

The post What does your grain sell for at port? appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The goal of the Canadian Triticum Applied Genomics project, which will cost $8.8 million in total, is to develop a “breeder-friendly” genotyping platform to allow whole genome selection for agronomically important traits. This will be a tool for breeding cultivars that are more productive, resistant to disease and pests, and resilient to heat and drought stresses.

The project will be led by Curtis Pozniak of the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre and Andrew Sharpe of the National Research Council Canada. The other funding is coming from government, private companies, and the academic sector.

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