Attendees at the Crop Diagnostic School earlier in July pore over an oat crop at the Ian N. Morrisson Research Farm in Carman.

A thorn in the side of oat growers

Common buckthorn is a haven for crown rust spores over the winter and an easy source of infection if the farmer opts for a susceptible oat variety

Oat growers may want to gauge the distance to the nearest woody stream bed the next time they choose a variety. That’s one of the messages sent out during this year’s Crop Diagnostic School in Carman in the first two weeks of July. Why it matters: Manitoba’s most popular oat varieties have either been downgraded




Cigi staff evaluate wheat flour for use in oriental noodles. (Cigi photo)

Cigi, Cereals Canada agree to pursue amalgamation

The boards of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and Cereals Canada have agreed to pursue amalgamation by March 31, 2020. That’s if a proposal, yet to be developed, is approved by the two bodies’ member organizations, leaders Dean Dias and Cam Dahl, said Friday in separate interviews. “During the past week, both boards have


Ardent Mills’ baking mix plant at Burlington, between Toronto and Hamilton, is now part of Michigan-based baking ingredient firm Dawn Foods. (ArdentMills.com)

Ardent Mills sells Ontario bakery ingredient plant

Flour miller Ardent Mills plans to push off further from the sweet baking ingredient business, with a deal to sell its southern Ontario ingredient mix plant. Denver-based Ardent said Monday it closed a deal the previous Friday to sell its Burlington, Ont. plant to U.S. bakery ingredient processor Dawn Foods. The deal’s financial terms weren’t



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain prices strong as dry weather persists

MarketsFarm — Producers are anxious to stock up on feed grains as weather across the Prairies has remained dry. “We’ve been seeing buyers being quite aggressive [when] bidding on all feed grains,” explained Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in Lethbridge. “Nobody wants to be caught without anything over the summer.” With little precipitation in the forecast,

The Canadian International Grains Institute was created in 1972 to provide market development and technical support for Canadian wheat and other field crops.

What will become of Cigi?

Merger talks between Cigi, created 45 years ago to promote Canadian grain exports, and Cereals Canada could come to a head this month


Cigi’s future could soon be clearer. For more than a year, the Canadian International Grains Institute, created in 1972 to provide market development and technical support for Canadian wheat and other field crops, and Cereals Canada, which represents the country’s cereals sector, have been considering merging. Cigi could decide on that during its annual meeting