Higher fees, outside inspectors, and mandate change in the works, and changes to wheat variety registration may follow
Major changes are coming to the Canadian Grain Commission. “We’ve been around 100 years,” said CGC chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson. “If we want to be relevant for the next 100 years we have to make some changes to adapt to an industry that’s changing very quickly so we’re… providing the right services at that rightCanadian Grain Commission preparing for its next 100 years
CWB announces more handling agreements, Japan sale
Farmers can now deliver to the wheat board through 120 elevators across the West and more grain companies are expected to participate
Things are starting to look up for the Canadian Wheat Board. Last week it announced six more grain companies will handle its grain making it practical for farmers across the West to patronize the board, and it announced a big wheat sale to Japan. Until the new handling agreements were announced June 21 at theCigi appoints three farmers to its board
With farmers paying for part of its funding directly, Cigi says it’s important to get them more involved in governance
Three Prairie farmers have been appointed to the Canadian International Grains Institute’s six-member board, just one of many changes to the institute in the wake of the Canadian Wheat Board end of its sales monopoly Aug. 1. Cigi, which teaches customers how to use Canadian crops, was founded in 1972 by the wheat board andFNA announces MarketPower Assurance program
Farmers selling to the feedlot down the road or to a noodle maker in Japan can now insure their sale against default through the new MarketPower Assurance program offered by the Farmers of North America (FNA) and its partners Atradius Credit Insurance, Export Development Canada, and Pangaea Global Risk Management. “It is literally the first
Appeal court upholds “marketing freedom” law
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz didn’t break the law by introducing legislation last fall to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on the sale of Prairie wheat and barley, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Monday. “We are pleased with this decision,” Ritz said in an email. “The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act is in
Herbicide-tolerant weeds can hurt farm incomes, says BASF poll
Farmers are increasingly aware of the possibility of getting herbicide-tolerant weeds in their fields, but most aren’t doing enough to delay them, says Gary Martens, an agronomy instructor at the University of Manitoba. “Farmers have not changed their behaviour based on what they know,” he said, in reaction to an Ipsos Reid poll of 500
Check firearms licence expiry date
Thank you, Inky Mark. You saved me 80 bucks and probably a lot of grief. Your letter to the editor in last week’s Manitoba Co-operator prompted me to dig out my Firearm’s Licence to check the expiration date, which turns out to be next Feb. 28. After getting the licence in 2007 it was shoved
AAFC to clarify wheat, barley checkoff authority
The federal government plans to sign an agreement with the Alberta Barley Commission laying out how farmers’ money from a proposed new interim wheat and barley checkoff for research and market development is spent. "ABC and AAFC (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) intend to enter into an agreement that will specify what dollars-per-tonne amounts that ABC
Fungicide season has begun
Flag leaf stage applications provide the best protection Winter wheat is at, or near the stage, for applying fungicides to protect it from various leaf diseases and spring wheat isn’t far behind, says Holly Derksen, a plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI). Some winter wheat fields were at the flag-leaf stage
Prognosis good for crops frosted May 29
Fields damaged by frost May 29 will likely recover, a weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives says. However, Nasir Shaikh said farmers who moved in too quickly with herbicide applications — within 24 to 48 hours of a frost — could set back the crops while not having the desired effect on the