Crop Management
The scientific debate over whether plowed soil sequesters the same amount of carbon as no till doesn’t apply to the Canadian Prairies, says an Agriculture Canada researcher. Studies over the last 20 years have shown that zero tillage sequesters more carbon than plowed soil, but some soil carbon experts, including John Baker of the University […] Read more
Crop Management
Soil study digs deeper into carbon sequestration
Barley expected to make comeback
Canadian barley acres may finally have bottomed out, according to officials in the grain and livestock industries. “We do not have enough barley around to sustain our local industries right now,” said Bruce Burnett, the Canadian Wheat Board’s director of weather and market analysis. He expects feed barley prices to rise to encourage more acres […] Read more
Wheat, pulse processor planned
Alliance Grain Traders Inc., a Regina- based international pulse export company, has announced plans to build a $50 million durum and pulse processing facility and pasta plant just west of the city. The facilities will be located at the Global Transportation Hub, which houses a food distribution company, trucking and logistics experts. It is expected […] Read more
CWB changes will reach beyond wheat: industry watchdog
It’s comforting for many in the grain industry to think that dropping the Canadian Wheat Board out of its centre won’t change much. But the industry’s overseer doubts the transition will be that simple. “Don’t think for a second that this isn’t going to change the whole logistics system at the same time, and not […] Read more
Wheat growers plant into dust
The U.S. winter wheat crop is off to a worse start than last year, according to farm groups in the southern Plains. “We literally have had no rain in a year,” said Steelee Fischbacher, communications director with Texas Wheat Producers. “This is actually the worst oneyear drought on record for Texas, so we’re in a […] Read more
Logistics, grading may change post-CWB
The consensus in the grain industry is that canola moves more efficiently through the marketing pipeline than wheat. However, experts at the recent Fields on Wheels conference in Winnipeg weren’t sure how much more efficient wheat shipments will be without the Canadian Wheat Board marketing monopoly. “I’m not sure that wheat will ever be as […] Read more
Weak oat prices could cause small 2012 crop
WINNIPEG (Reuters) – North American oat stocks look to fall to a near-record low next year, tightening milling supplies even as food companies struggle to contain input costs. High commodity prices for corn, sugar and cocoa have for the past year left food companies facing the dilemma of whether to absorb the costs or pass […] Read more
U.S. ethanol market eating into export supplies of corn
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — For the first time in 40 years, U.S. corn exporters are not out-selling the rest of the world. Domestic ethanol is sucking up record crops, emerging suppliers such as Brazil and Ukraine are taking export share, and traditional exporters such as Argentina are moving to open new markets. As well, consumers […] Read more
Tillage not critical to carbon sequestration
Alberta producers who practise zero tillage have been paid millions of dollars over the past few years as part of an emissions trading scheme in the province. The Alberta Offset System has compensated them for conservation tillage because the management practice is supposed to hold more carbon in the soil, reducing the amount of greenhouse […] Read more
Price of offsetting emissions
Companies that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year have been under the gun in Alberta since July 1, 2007. They must either reduce emissions intensity by 12 percent annually, relative to baseline levels, or offset their production. Emissions intensity is measured relative to economic output, so a decrease in emissions may […] Read more
