OUTLOOK, Sask. – The 2003-04 crop year was a forgettable one for prairie bean growers. A huge carryover of pintos in the United States, a good crop of black and coloured beans in Mexico and cheap Chinese white beans combined to create lacklustre demand and poor prices. Values for most classes of beans are expected […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Bean growers hope to whet Mexican appetite
OUTLOOK, Sask. – Mexico is to bean markets what India is to peas and lentils. As one of the world’s top importers of the legume, the Latin country carries considerable clout in the bean trade, which explains why Canadian breeders have placed a top priority on developing varieties that appeal to it. Particular emphasis has […] Read more
Push on to halt bean disease
Manitoba bean growers have spotted a disease that once caused a big headache for the Ontario dry bean industry. Anthracnose has been detected in a few fields in the Winkler area, but officials say it’s nothing to be alarmed about. The fungal disease appears to be isolated in that area of the province and those […] Read more
Special crops estimates called wrong
REGINA – As the clock approached noon on the second day of the Canadian Special Crops Association convention, traders and exporters came to the consensus that many industry analysts were out to lunch. Presenters speaking at a production prospects session took issue with harvest forecasts from some of the industry’s top analysts. Some questioned the […] Read more
Canada losing major pulse market
REGINA – The explosive growth of the Canadian special crops industry couldn’t have come at a better time. As exports climbed to more than three million tonnes at the turn of the century, special crops traders discovered they had a captive market for their product. Buyers in the Middle East and North Africa were stockpiling […] Read more
Worldwide bean consumption falls
REGINA – Bean eaters are running out of gas. Between 1998 and 2003, worldwide consumption of the legume fell by nearly two percent. The decline was more precipitous in the European Union, with consumption falling more than seven percent during that time period, a Spanish pulse expert told delegates attending the Canadian Special Crops Association […] Read more
Canadian food exports on track to rise this year
Canada is on pace to increase farm exports for the first time in three years. According to a July forecast prepared by Export Development Canada, exports of agri-food products will rise 8.5 percent in 2004, which represents a dramatic turnaround from last year’s 11.7 percent decline in the trade of Canadian crops and livestock. However, […] Read more
New varieties spread red lentils into new territory
REGINA – Breeders at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre have released two new varieties of red lentils that should expand the region where the crop is grown in Saskatchewan. Tom Warkentin told 322 processors and exporters gathered at last week’s Canadian Special Crops Association annual meeting that Redberry and Rouleau could push red […] Read more
Rain brings ample hay
With the American border closed to Canadian cattle, producers have larger herds. So reports of ample feed supplies should come as welcome news. For the first time in years, prairie farmers are pleased with their first cut of hay. As the initial forage period winds down, producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are reporting above average […] Read more
Pulse producers optimistic about new ag minister
The special crops industry thinks it might have a special connection with the new federal agriculture minister. As former secretary of state for rural development, Andy Mitchell is aware of how the pulse processing sector drives economic activity in many small prairie communities. “From that perspective I think we’ve got a bit of a head […] Read more
