Bakers, farmers struggle to make a little dough

Chicago’s iconic sandwiches — Italian beef heroes dripping with gravy, and hotdogs loaded with pickles and hot peppers — wouldn’t be such culinary institutions without the bread. But this fall, bakers faced a crisis getting the right kind of bread to delis and sandwich shops locally and across the United States. Gonnella Baking Co. —[...]

Millers, bakers fret as drought withers North America's spring wheat

Reuters – Millers and bakers are draining wheat reserves and paying more for spring wheat used in baking, as drought shrivels crops across the Canadian Prairies and northern U.S. Plains that produce more than half of the world's supply. U.S. and Canadian farmers are bracing for a sharply smaller spring wheat harvest due to the[...]


Cargill to close Man. grain elevators in 2015

Reuters – Cargill Ltd. said on Thursday that it will close its Swan River, Manitoba grain facility, which includes two elevators, as of May 31, 2015. The facility would require costly upgrades if it remained open, Jeff Wildeman, regional manager of Cargill AgHorizons said in a statement. Cargill's crop inputs facility in Swan River will remain open. The decision comes as Cargill[...]

North America's millers, bakers scramble to satisfy bread binge

Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters -- North American flour mills and bakeries are rushing to boost production as the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus leads to consumer stockpiling of staples such as bread and pasta. The virus' spread prompted orders to stay at home in some U.S. states, including New York, California and Illinois last week, following[...]


Higher prices lure farmers


Reuters / Canadian farmers intend to plant nearly a million acres more wheat than the industry expected in the first year of an open grain market, along with a record-large canola crop, Statistics Canada reported late last month in its initial forecast of 2012 planting intentions. 
Drier-than-normal weather in Western Canada, stretching back to last[...]

Wheat buyers fret as Canadian grain monopoly ends


Reuters / Global wheat importers fear the quality of Canada’s prized spring wheat and durum may deteriorate once the Canadian Wheat Board loses its marketing monopoly, creating problems for makers of breads and pasta.
A broad swath of wheat buyers, including Japan, known as the most quality-conscious wheat importer, has raised concerns that the consistent, top-quality[...]


Viterra CEO Sees Grain Price Rebound

Viterra is buying grains in the cash and futures markets because it sees the recent slide as unsustainable, chief executive Mayo Schmidt said Mar. 16Grain and oilseed prices remain relatively high and have driven up the cost of food to record levels, but fell sharply recently, just as farmers in the Northern Hemisphere prepare for[...]

CWB has limited success striking deals with grain handlers


The Canadian Wheat Board’s limited success in teaming up with grain handlers to survive the loss of its marketing monopoly is raising doubts about price pooling, a nearly century-old way for farmers to manage their price risk.
The CWB, which loses its monopoly on Aug. 1 and becomes one of many buyers of farmers’ grain, is[...]


Flooding potential threatens fertilizer movement

Fertilizer makers may be hard pressed this spring to move their yield-boosting products to western Canadian farmers during a shortened planting season, as the potential for major flooding grows.
Cold weather has delayed the melt of heavy snowpack in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, raising the risk that floods in late April and May[...]