It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Where some see waste moving out the back end of combines, Catherine Hui Niu sees great opportunity. “Can we explore new use of those materials? Can we make better use, discover new technology to reuse those materials, recycle them, or add value to them?” asked Niu, associate […] Read more
Barley
Ag Canada raises wheat stocks projections, lowers canola
Canadian wheat ending stocks for 2018/19 (Aug/Jul) will be slightly larger than earlier thought, according to updated supply/demand tables from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Meanwhile, the carryout projections for both canola and peas were revised lower in the latest monthly report, released Dec. 20, 2018. Taking into account the adjusted production estimates from Statistics Canada, […] Read more
Cargill to sell global malting assets, including Prairie Malt
Cargill has announced a deal to sell its global malting business to Boortmalt, a subsidiary of the French co-operative Axéréal. Axéréal, which operates in 13 countries and employs 3,200 people, is a producer and processor of value-added cereal grain products for the baking, brewing and livestock industries. The agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals, […] Read more
New company buys into terminal
One year to the day after it shipped its first unit train of western Canadian grain, GrainsConnect signed a joint venture agreement to build a new export terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The company, which is itself a joint venture between Australian grain giant GrainCorp and Japanese co-operative Zen-Noh Grain, is rapidly establishing a […] Read more
Prairie feed grain market inching higher
The feed grain market in Western Canada is starting to firm up as a lack of farmers selling has supplies tightening. “It seems like we’re kind of moving higher here at the moment. Markets have a firmer tone to them for now. Barley and feed wheat have been moving higher, no doubt about it,” said […] Read more
Farm-saved seed royalties not unreasonable
“If this goes through, I’ll be out of business,” said a producer attending the Dec. 4 consultation in Saskatoon on options for farm-saved seed royalties. The comment is indicative of the level of concern — concern out of proportion to the actual proposals. Under the rules imposed on media, comments made during the meeting are […] Read more
Seed royalty benefits questioned
Suspicions ran high when farmers met with government officials last week over potential changes that could see the collection of farm-saved seed royalties. Producers at the Edmonton meeting Dec. 6 raised numerous concerns, fearing a royalty scheme for farm-saved seed would have little, if any, benefits to an industry that already faces tight margins. “We’re […] Read more
Trade, weather to determine acres
As Canadian farmers start thinking about what to plant next spring, global trade patterns and weather will play into decision making. “It’s very difficult to decide where this all is going. That obviously also has implications on where the futures prices go and what signals the farmers are taking from that,” said Marlene Boersch of […] Read more
Tanker plan sparks delay worries
Alberta’s plan to move a massive number of oil tanker cars by rail could potentially congest the flow of grain, say transportation experts, but they caution that any impact won’t fully be known until the additional trains are running. The plan would see the province move two train units shipping 120,000 barrels of oil every […] Read more
P&H invests in new terminal
Parrish & Heimbecker is building a new grain export terminal at the Port of Vancouver and that means further investment in inland facilities, increasing delivery opportunities for prairie growers. The terminal will add 3.5 million tonnes of annual handling capacity to the firm’s existing 500,000 tonnes of capacity at its joint venture facility currently operating […] Read more
