A new checkoff on grain deliveries might be a fairer way to fund the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), says assistant chief CGC commissioner Jim Smolik. But he is open to suggestions. “I think the simplest is a dealer point deduction,” Smolik told Winter Cereals Manitoba’s annual meeting March 12. “Is there a better model, something that
Canadian Grain Commission seeks fairer funding model
One-third of the production is paying two-thirds of the costs
Transportation crisis boosts grain company profits
There’s an extraordinary difference between country and port prices
Farmers unable to move crops this winter have had plenty of time to notice the difference between what grain companies are paying in the country and selling for off the West Coast. “Our calculations demonstrate the grain companies have taken over $1.6 billion in excess profits from wheat alone so far this crop year,” said
Railways accused of trying to swamp West Coast, Thunder Bay
The WGEA says it can handle 11,000 cars a week, but in all shipping corridors
Faced with meeting performance targets, Canada’s railways are now flooding the West Coast and Thunder Bay terminals with grain, the Western Grain Elevators Association says. Western grain elevator companies can handle the 11,000 cars a week the federal government has ordered the railways to move, but some of those cars need to go to the
Winter wheat backlog threatens fall demand
Jake Davidson fears last fall’s unprecedented early demand might not be repeated if a large volume of winter wheat is carried over
For the second year in a row, winter wheat is projected to be one of the most profitable crops in Manitoba. But it won’t be as attractive this fall if last year’s crop doesn’t move soon, says Jake Davidson, executive manager of Winter Cereals Manitoba. “My biggest concern is with the slow movement this year,”
CP’s Hunter Harrison confirms grain is captive to rail
Western Canada’s transportation mess and the railways’ response is getting lots of attention in the mainstream media
Railway executives came out swinging last week following the federal government’s March 7 order to get the grain moving, while the western provinces stepped up the pressure on Ottawa to keep the pressure on. The Manitoba government followed Alberta and Saskatchewan’s lead in getting involved in the issue by striking a Provincial Task Force on
WGRF asking farmers big funding questions
Where do farmers want to go with funding research and how do they want to get there?
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), the farmer-run conduit for most of western grain farmers’ investment in agricultural research, wants farmers’ input on future funding and the foundation’s role. “Breeding is a long-term process,” WGRF executive director Garth Patterson told Winter Cereals Manitoba’s annual meeting March 12. “You have to look 10 or 15 years
If Ritz saw transportation crisis coming, why didn’t he act sooner, Harder asks
Gerry Ritz says he saw the grain transportation crisis coming, so why didn’t he do more to prevent it? That’s the question some farmers including Lowe Farm farmer and National Farmers Union member Dean Harder is asking. Harder chided Ritz during his March 7 news conference in Winnipeg, saying Ritz was warned removing the Canadian
Push comes to shove for grain trains
The federal government is promising a legislated fix to ensure railway performance
Now that the federal government has given the two national railways four weeks to get grain shipments up to speed or face daily fines of up to $100,000, all eyes are on what happens next. The government has promised it will table legislation to improve rail service for grain after the parliamentary break this month.
Canola growers invest $130,000 in new lab
The new Pathogen Surveillance Initiative will focus initially on clubroot detection
Manitoba’s battle against clubroot just kicked up a notch. The Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA) is investing $130,000 in the new Pathogen Surveillance Initiative, which will see a new laboratory set up at the University of Manitoba, MCGA president Ed Rempel announced at the association’s annual meeting in Winnipeg Feb. 18. The farmer-led effort funded
Grain handling firms rip CP chief’s claims
The organization representing the Prairies’ mainline grain handlers isn’t buying claims from Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s CEO about why the railway’s grain shipments are lagging. Hunter Harrison, in a full-page ad last week in Canada’s two national newspapers, said the harshest winter in 60 years, a record Western crop and grain companies not running 24/7
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