Highlights from Crop Production Week

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Published: January 8, 2013

Crop Production Week is off and running in Saskatoon. Here’s a few choice bits from today’s sessions:

1) Pulse industry consultant Marlene Boersch says Russia poses the biggest threat to Canada out of the former Soviet Union republics, but the high cost of production growing peas and chickpeas has been keeping that threat in check.

2) Pulse industry analyst Chuck Penner says Canada needs to pay more attention to Africa due to its exploding population and increasing per capita income. He also feels more attention needs to be devoted to boosting dry bean yields because that crop accounts for the lion’s share of global pulse consumption.

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3) Mexico rejected 12 rail cars of Canadian canaryseed in July, 2012, for containing too many quarantine weed seeds. The Canadian Special Crops Association is proposing a new inspection protocol to resolve the issue.

4) A number of election reform proposals were tabled at the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers annual meeting in the wake of the 2012 election controversy.

5) Market analyst Larry Weber said flax supplies will be tight again in 2013 and prices could top $15 per bushel if there are any weather scares.

6) The Canadian Grain Commission wants more pulse grower participation in its harvest sampling program.

Look for complete stories on these topics in upcoming issues of The Western Producer.

About the author

Sean Pratt

Sean Pratt

Reporter/Analyst

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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