LETTERS – for Jan. 8, 2009

Grain Growers of Canada wish list At this special time of year, the Grain Growers would like to reflect on accomplishments over the past 12 months and look forward to next year. On the positives, we’d like to recognize the Transport Committees of the House and Senate for their quick work in passing Bill C-8

Supply response to high prices is a lasting one

The steep ramp-up of grain and oilseed prices over a couple of years only to drop by one-half in a matter of three or four months has been extremely confusing to lots of folks. The fact that the 50 per cent drop took place so quickly was a surprise – it usually takes a couple


Make wheat like canola, CropLife told

“One of the things farmers maybe should be interested in is having some control over their own germplasm.” – David Rourke Plant breeders need to make wheat more like canola, farmers said during CropLife Canada’s annual convention in Ottawa last month. “You look at what canola (yield) has done and it has been phenomenal,” Jeff

Are grain prices recession-proof?

DON BOUSQUET It’s Your Business For three-times-daily market reports from Don Bousquet and RNI, visit “ICE Futures Canada updates” at ww.manitobacooperator.ca Grain and oilseed futures at ICE Futures Canada in Winnipeg closed the week ended Jan. 2 higher with a firm tone in the U. S. markets contributing to the gains. Canola rose back over


U. S. grain trade unfazed by China export talk

The United States, the world’s top grain exporter, will feel little impact should China end its one-year hiatus on corn and wheat exports, said traders Dec. 31. China is expected to authorize exports of 500,000 tonnes of corn and 500,000 tonnes of wheat in 2009, which would barely put it among the top 10 exporters

Alberta wheat grower to lead WCWGA

Kevin Bender, a 38-year-old Bentley, Alta., farmer, is the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association’s (WCWGA) new president. Bender, who farms 3,800 acres with his father and brother, takes over from Mossbank, Sask., farmer Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, who stepped down after holding the position for almost five years. Bender was elected by the WCWGA’s board of directors,


What’s up – for Jan. 8, 2009

Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] call 204-944-5762 Jan. 7-9 – Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association 39th annual convention, Fairmont Hotel, 2 Lombard Ave., Winnipeg. For more info visit www.wheatgrowers.caor call Blair Rutter at 204-256-2353. Jan. 10-11 – Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies annual conference, Victoria Inn, Brandon. For more info call MAFRI in

Saudi Arabia to increase wheat stocks

Saudi Arabia expects to import up to 800,000 tonnes of milling wheat in the year to September 2009 as it seeks to build up stocks while scaling back domestic wheat farming, a grains authority official told Reuters. Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization (GSFMO) plans to issue a tender in April or



Spring fertilizer crunch coming?

Reduced demand for fertilizer this fall has sparked concerns about shortages in 2009. “Farmers are trying to wait as long as they can to see if prices will keep coming down and yet on the other side of the coin, there is the concern about whether or not the supply will be there in the