Wheat Yields In Southern North Dakota Seen Lower

Spring wheat yields were projected to decline this year in the southern half of North Dakota as a late start to the planting season and excessive moisture stressed the crop, allowing diseases to thrive, crop scouts on an annual tour found. Huge pools of standing water covered large swaths of farmland across the state, submerging



“Endnotes” On The CWB’s Future

The following is the endnotes from the recently published paper by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy called “Removal of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly: Future changes for farmers and the grain industry.” The paper concludes that while the loss of the board’s monopoly will be challenging, Western Canada’s sophisticated farmers will adapt to find

Canola Tops For Farm Cash Receipts In 2010

Canola continues to be the darling of cash crops grossing Canadian farmers $5.6 billion in 2010 – more than any other crop, according to Statistics Canada. “Canola has become the most profitable crop for Prairie growers,” Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth told the council’s 44th annual meeting here July 28. “That’s why they


Forty Years Of Corn In Manitoba

These past two have been the most difficult years Miami-area corn grower Alan Kennedy has seen in 60 years of farming. But they’ve also been the most profitable per acre, thanks to a rare combination of weather and strong markets. “This year looks pretty shakey, but two out of three ain’t bad,” Kennedy joked last

In Brief… – for Aug. 4, 2011

CWB lowers new-crop PROs:The Canadian Wheat Board has lowered new-crop wheat, durum and barley values for the upcoming crop year beginning August 1. In setting its latest PROs, the board cited U.S. economic uncertainty; a higher Canadian dollar; increased production in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan; higher Russian wheat sales; improving durum production outlook, and reduced weather


CGC Reclassifies CWRW Varieties

A number of Canada Western Red Winter wheat (CWRW) varieties will be reclassified under the Canada Western General Purpose (CWGP) class, effective August 1, 2011, the Canadian Grain Commission, or CGC, announced in a news release July 15. The varieties in question include; CDC Kestrel; CDC Clair; CDC Harrier; CDC Falcon; and CDC Raptor. The

Black Sea Supplies Weigh On Wheat Prices

Australian wheat prices are likely to come under pressure due to supplies from the Black Sea region, while domestic farmers are holding back new-crop sales, hoping for better prices, industry players said on July 27. The new-crop Australian prime wheat is quoted at around A$255 a tonne on the east coast and A$268 on the


Letters – for Aug. 4, 2011

Our government has been clear – every farmer should have a choice to sell their wheat, durum and barley, either individually or through a pooling system. International buyers purchase Canadian wheat and barley because of their high quality, not because the Canadian Wheat Board sells them. Western Canadian canola and pulses have highly successful and

Update From East Africa: People Pushed To The Brink

Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive director Jim Cornelius is on a study leave in Kenya and Ethiopia. Last week he sent this observation from southern Ethiopia, which is experiencing its worst food crisis in 60 years. Unlike the major Ethiopia famines in 1972 and 1984, which were concentrated in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, this food