There have been huge crop acreage shifts in the last 15 years, but expert says what happens next is just a guesstimate
Chuck Penner confirmed what most already knew — making price and acreage forecasts isn’t an exact science. “I’m in this business, but I really have to admit that they are really just guesstimates,” the president of LeftField Commodity Research said at the recent Canada Grains Council annual meeting. “When these people make these crop forecastsAcreage forecasts come with a few grains of salt
Who has Ritz’s ear?
Some in the industry wonder whether they are wasting their time discussing how to improve Canada’s wheat registration system. Recent history shows that while Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz offers to consult with all of the industry, he only listens to a few. “Ritz listens to the Wheat Growers and Grain Growers of Canada more than
A storied career and special man recognized by his many colleagues
Dennis Stephens has worked in the grain industry for 50 years as a reporter, grain industry official, and assistant deputy minister of agriculture
After a 50-year career in agriculture, they were lining up to praise — and gently rib — Dennis Stephens at the recent Canada Grains Council annual meeting. “Dennis is first and foremost a journalist with a passion for detail,” said Will Hill, president of Flax Council of Canada. Not to mention one with an appetiteOff-label glyphosate applications can be costly
Farmers are increasingly going “off label” applying higher rates of glyphosate to their Roundup Ready canola at a later crop stage than recommended, a survey commissioned by Monsanto Canada reveals. As a result farmers are losing three bushels an acre, Monsanto Canada said in a recent new release citing its own research. “The symptoms of
Customer complaints about Canadian wheat performance colour quality, brand debate
They come at a time when some question Canada’s emphasis on wheat quality assurance and the registration system
If there is good news in a recent wire service story that told the world some customers are complaining about Canadian wheat that wimped out in the bakery, it’s that complaints over quality are so rare they become news. Chinese officials complained this past winter, suggesting that a lack of processing consistency in the CWRSSome farm leaders want the new plant to include feed mills
A new program to protect farmers when licensed grain companies fail to pay them could be implemented Aug. 1, says Elwin Hermanson, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. “I’m not betting my life we’ll be ready by Aug. 1 but that’s still our goal and it’s still possible,” he said during an interview April
Manitoba farmer continues push for merger of commodity groups
A Halbstadt farmer says his call to create three big Prairie-wide commodity groups is getting positive reviews — but no organizations have officially embraced the idea so far. Last month, Danny Penner issued a discussion document calling for the merger of existing commodity groups to make them more efficient and effective. “In person, I have
Commodity groups may band together to hold mega-meeting
Annual meetings of commodity groups could soon be more convenient and worthwhile for Manitoba farmers if a proposal for a joint meeting is accepted. “I’m really excited about this,” said Ernie Sirski, a director with the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. The idea would be to have one large event held over several days. Groups would
Ottawa urges Canadian grain industry to pull together
Danny Penner, the iconoclast who wants Canada’s farmers to get their voices together, has a fan in high places. “I read your blog. I think it’s great,” Greg Meredith, an assistant deputy minister with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada told Penner during a question period April 2 during the Canada Grains Council’s annual meeting in Winnipeg.
Parrish & Heimbecker has a Faller wheat contract for 2013
Parrish & Heimbecker will contract around 10,000 acres of Faller, an unregistered American wheat, under an identity-preserved program with farmers in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan this spring, says John Devos, the company’s manager of seed and chemical. P & H is the second grain company to offer such a program and there could be more,