CWB has updated its pool return outlooks for the 2013-14 annual and futures choice annual pools. Projected returns relative to the last PROs issued Sept. 26 are $16 per tonne higher for all grades of spring wheat and $10 higher for canola. Estimated returns for malt barley are down $5. Durum spreads continue to widen, […] Read more
Brian Cross
Stories by Brian Cross
SeCan resolves plant breeders’ rights violation
A pedigreed seed grower from Delisle, Sask., has agreed to pay restitution of $120,000 for his involvement in the illegal sale of seed protected under plant breeders’ rights. SeCan announced today that it has resolved a legal action against Leonard Junop and Junop Bros. Seed of Delisle, about 30 minutes west of Saskatoon. The case […] Read more
Canada’s cereal industry forms national commodity group
Canada’s agricultural landscape has another new commodity organization, Cereals Canada, which will deal with issues that affect the country’s cereal grain industry. It is a multi-commodity organization that was formed to enhance the domestic and international competitiveness of Canadian cereal grains. The group will represent the interests of various stakeholders in the Canadian cereals industry, […] Read more
CGC to replace producer payment protection plan
Canadian farmers who sell their crops to an insolvent grain company and don’t receive payment for their deliveries will soon be recovering their losses through a new insurance-based security program. The Canadian Grain Commission will soon replace its existing producer payment protection plan with a new plan designed to control costs for the grain industry, […] Read more
High protein wheat may be difficult to find this year
Canadian farmers are looking at a record wheat crop this year but finding buyers for all that grain will be a challenge, says an executive at Richardson International. Richardson vice-president of marketing Brent Watchorn said the sheer size of this year’s crop, combined with lower than expected protein levels, could pose a challenge for marketers. […] Read more
CWB class action suit advances
The wheels of justice will advance a little further this month in an ongoing dispute involving assets controlled by the former Canadian Wheat Board. On Oct. 23, the Federal Court in Ottawa will consider a motion to dismiss a class action suit launched last year against the federal government and the wheat board. The Dennis […] Read more
Wheat protein levels down
Mean protein levels in Western Canada’s 2013 spring wheat crop could be as much as a percentage point below last year’s crop. Spring wheat samples submitted to the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program show preliminary protein levels in No. 1 CWRS wheat ranging from 12.4 percent in northern Alberta to 13.2 percent in southwestern […] Read more
Large prairie crops will test grain handling system
Delivery problems | Big haul expected to result in congestion
A bumper harvest will put added pressure on Western Canada’s grain handling system and is likely to leave some farmers scrambling to find delivery opportunities. Saskatchewan agriculture minister Lyle Stewart says logistical challenges are nothing new to prairie farmers, but this year’s unusually large crop could present unforeseen problems. “This isn’t our first big crop […] Read moreBiotech clause in U.S. farm bill nixed
A U.S. Senate committee has removed from a Senate spending bill a controversial clause that would have extended legal protections to companies that develop biotech crops and to farmers who produce and sell them. The clause, dubbed by opponents the “Monsanto Protection Act,” would have allowed American farmers to continue growing and selling a genetically […] Read more
Freight service planned for B.C. rail line
KPR shortline in receivership | CN will serve Campbell Creek, Vernon, Lumby Junction and Lumby, B.C.
Canadian National Railway plans to launch a new freight service on 150 kilometres of track in central British Columbia. CN announced Sept 26 that it will offer service on track that was previously operated by bankrupt short-line company Kelowna Pacific Railway. KPR entered an agreement to lease the rail facilities from CN in 1999. A […] Read more
