Flax Growers Vote To Scrap Checkoff Cap

The Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA) wants the $275 cap removed from its farmer checkoff of half a per cent of the value of flax when it’s sold. MFGA members voted in favour of removing the cap at their annual meeting here March 3. The MFGA will ask the Agricultural Producers’ Organization Cer tification Agency

New Flax Recommended For Registration

FP 2270, a new flax cultivar developed by Scott Duguid, a flax breeder with Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada based in Morden, has been recommended for registration. It yields much the same as CDC Bethune across the West, but does slightly better in Manitoba, where CDC Bethune yields on average 34 bushels an acre, Duguid


Non-GM Glyphosate-Tolerant Flax Being Developed

Glyphosate-tolerant flax that hasn’t been “genetically modified” (GM) could be on the market by 2014, according to James A. Radtke, vice-president of product development for Cibus, an American plant trait development company. If the $6-million project between Cibus, the Flax Council of Canada, and Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada is a success, Canadian flax growers

Potential Fantastic For Flax, Boosters Say

Flax, it seems, is the forgotten crop. Canadian acreage is declining and when farmers do grow the blue-flowered oilseed, it’s often the last crop to be planted, usually with fewer inputs than the rest. But boosters see lots of potential for flax because of its health attributes and mega-star endorsements. “When you have Oprah calling


Europe Relaxes GMO Tolerance Levels For Animal Feed

Amove by the European Union to allow low levels of genetically modified organisms in animal feed imports is a “step forward” but won’t immediately help Canada’s flaxseed exports into the region, according to the Flax Council of Canada. A European Union committee voted last month to allow a 0.1 per cent threshold of unauthorized GMOs

In Brief… – for Mar. 3, 2011

New president:William Hill has been appointed president of the Flax Council of Canada, replacing Barry Hall, who is retiring. Hill has 30 years experience in the Canadian grain and agricultural futures industry, including 13 years at the senior management level. Most recently he was president and COO of ICE Futures Canada (previously Winnipeg Commodity Exchange).


What’s Up – for Mar. 3, 2011

Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. March 3:Manitoba Flax Growers Association annual meeting, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Holland Community Centre, Holland. For more info call 204-638- 5231 or email [email protected]. March 5:Manitoba Sheep Association annual general meeting, 9:30 a.m., Commonwealth Air Training Museum dining hall, Brandon Airport. For more info

Tight Supply Of Flaxseed Confirmed

Fears of tight flaxseed supplies in Canada were confirmed by the Feb. 4 stocks report from Statistics Canada, which showed only 453,000 tonnes as of Dec. 31, 2010, as opposed to 843,000 at the same time one year ago. Although total stocks are very low, Chuck Penner of Left Field Commodities in Winnipeg, said the


Higher Prices Ration Flaxseed Demand

High flaxseed bids are causing end-users to ration demand, slowing the reduction of Canada’s tightening supplies. Flaxseed bids as high as $15.75 per bushel, f.o.b. farm, can currently be found in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to the latest Prairie Ag Hotwire data. Market participants said prices were hitting $16 per bushel in some limited cases.

Prairie Farmers Seen Planting More Flax In 2011

Canadian farmers will look to plant more flax this spring, but tight supplies in the meantime will slice exports to a five-or six-year low in the 2010- 11 crop year, crop analysts said Jan. 10. Production fell to an 18-year low of 423,000 tonnes in 2010. With current new-crop cash bids by grain handlers higher