The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) says it will look into the merits of including falling number and DON measurements as part of official western Canadian wheat grades, as requested by the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) last week. “Our GRL (Grain Research Laboratory) and Industry services officials will establish a team to look at implementing changes
Wheat Commission asks CGC for changes to wheat grading
The AWC says instrument-measured falling number and DON levels should replace visual proxies based on sprouting and fusarium-damaged kernels, respectively
Fusarium conference hears of disease resurgence
Western Canada’s worst crop disease is still a serious issue, researchers say
This was one of the worst years for fusarium head blight in western Canadian spring wheat — a sobering backdrop to the 8th Canadian Workshop on Fusarium Head Blight, held here Nov. 20-22. More than 200 scientists from Canada, the United States, Germany, England, Australia, Switzerland and beyond reviewed the latest research into fusarium head
A look at G3’s proposed new Vancouver grain terminal
A spiral track would allow trains to arrive on site, ease congestion elsewhere, and unload intact before returning to the Prairies
G3’s proposed Vancouver grain terminal will be the most efficient in North America and maybe the world, Doug MacDonald told Prairie farm leaders touring the port Nov. 15. CN’s vice-president of bulk commodities made the comment as the group’s boat cruised by the Lynnterm break bulk terminal on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, where
Western Canada’s publicly owned grain cars need replacing
Who will own the new ones and who will pay for them?
One thing most farmers and the railways agree on is the current fleet of aging government and publicly owned grain hopper cars soon needs to be replaced. Doug MacDonald, CN’s vice-president of bulk commodities, told representatives from the Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA), Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) Nov.
Prairie farm leaders meet CN Rail in Vancouver
It was an attempt to build bridges and ultimately improve grain shipping, but farmers remain unclear about the impact the MRE is having on car replacements
Prairie farm leaders praised CN Rail for agreeing to meet here last week to discuss ways to improve Western Canada’s grain-handling and transportation system. “I was impressed with the openness of CN,” Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Dan Mazier said in an interview (watch a video interview further down). “I think they were genuine today.”
VIDEO: Dan Mazier of KAP on grain transportation and the MRE
Farmers from the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan and Alberta Federation of Agriculture met CN Rail officials in Vancouver on Nov. 15 to discuss improving grain transportation. Manitoba Co-operator reporter Allan Dawson attended and spoke to KAP president Dan Mazier about the event.
U.S. trade double standard confirmed
American trade expert Joe Glauber sees continued pressure on Canada’s supply management and rising domestic farm subsidies in developing countries
Joe Glauber confirmed what many Canadian farmers believed during the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks from 2001 to 2008: the Americans were promoting farm subsidy cuts, while increasing their own. In 2001 the United States spent $10 billion in market loans to offset low prices for U.S. wheat, corn and soybeans, Glauber,
Support for free trade ain’t what it used to be
What was ‘accepted wisdom’ is under populist attack, but a veteran American trade advocate expects a revival in trade liberalization because of the benefits
After more than two decades trade liberalization seems out of style, but like fat lapels or skinny ties, it’s likely to be vogue again. That’s because of the benefits, especially for farmers, says Joe Glauber, the United States Department of Agriculture’s former chief economist and senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute
Trump’s triumph turns to ag trade trepidation
The U.S. president-elect has threatened to tear up the $1-trillion-a-year North American Free Trade Agreement and says he won’t ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Canada’s trade-dependent economy, including agriculture, could be collateral damage in Donald Trump’s battle to make America great again. The president-elect says he’ll pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if it can’t be renegotiated to give the U.S. a better deal. He also says he won’t ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which
MRE counterpoint claims system hurts everyone
VIDEO: Barry Prentice says the MRE is bad for western grain farmers and the railways
Western grain farmers and the railways would be better off if the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE) was scrapped, according to Barry Prentice, an agricultural economist and professor of supply chain management at the University of Manitoba. “Farmers may be losing more on (grain) prices (because Canada is seen as an unreliable supplier) than they ever