“B

readbasket of the World Under Siege” blared the headline on an opening slide in Dilantha Fernando’s PowerPoint presentation. It was a dramatic way to start a workshop on fusarium head blight. But was it exaggerated? “It all depends on which year we are talking about,” said Fernando, a University of Manitoba plant pathologist. It was

Agriculture Canada Sees Higher Acreage

Canadian farmers will plant more wheat, durum, canola, oats and barley this spring and leave less unplanted land – if they can, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said. The department’s outlook for grains and oilseeds for the 2011- 12 crop year May 10 maintained Statistics Canada’s April 26 planting estimates for canola, oats, barley and durum.


Time To Call It Quits

Can the Canadian Wheat Board survive without the “single desk?” Anyone considering the question would do well to consider the following: Why should the Canadian Wheat Board absorb the cost of branding Canadian wheat, absorb the cost of promotion and working on sales of Canadian wheat, absorb the cost of dealing with trade issues; absorb

CWB Single Desk To End, But When?

It’s not a question of if, but when Stephen Harper’s majority Conservative government will kill the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly over western Canadian wheat and barley. The Tories have promised since 2006 to abolish the CWB’s statutory single desk, but were stymied until winning 167 seats in the May 2 election, giving them a solid


Rail Revenue Cap Changes?

Gerry Ritz, who hopes to continue as Canada’s agriculture minister in the newly elected Harper majority government, said last week farmers might need to pay more for grain transportation in order to get better railway service. “We want a much more commercially based system,” said Ritz, who was re-elected May 2 in the Saskatchewan constituency

In Brief… – for May. 12, 2011

Viterra opens Montreal office:Canada’s biggest grain handler, Viterra Inc. has opened a marketing office in Montreal following a deal last month to run the grain terminal owned by Montreal Port Authority. The marketing office will increase Viterra’s ability to buy crops and sell them to buyers in Canada, the United States and Europe, the company


The Question Now, Is How?

The federal Conservatives made no secret of their plans to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly if given a majority. Canadians, including the vast majority of Prairie farmers, gave them the mandate. So no one should be surprised if they do what they said they would, despite the results of CWB director elections. You don’t

In Brief… – for May. 5, 2011

First quarter:Maple Leaf Foods Inc., passed on rising food costs to consumers in the first quarter and posted a higher profit April 28. Maple Leaf said its profit margins on prepared meats rose because of its price increases, although it also reported some volume declines. The company, which sells its products under such brands as


I Want My Money Back

I strongly object to the efforts of the Manitoba Canola Growers to put canola under the Canadian Wheat Board “Marketing survey not supported” (Co-operator,April 14). Canola has been a great, profitable success story for Prairie farmers and putting it under the CWB would only threaten this success.

Advice From A Failing Competitor

As noted in this space April 14, Vince Peterson, vice-president of U.S. Wheat Associates, was recently in Winnipeg to say that genetically modified wheat is inevitable. The theory is that higher yields are needed for a hungry world, and to make wheat competitive with corn and soybeans. USWA wants all exporters to agree to simultaneous