Wheat is hot, oats are not as farmers load up for spring seeding

There is renewed interest in spring wheat, but growers are worried about the state of winter wheat already in the ground

Seed growers across Manitoba say wheat sales are up this year, while oats and barley are moving more slowly. “Our area is showing a renewed interest in spring wheat with some new lines that performed well in 2012 and better pricing relative to other cereal options,” said Craig Riddell of Warren-based Riddell Seed Company. “In

Letters, March 28, 2013

Farmers well represented by commodity groups I am replying to your recent article regarding farmer’s voice splintered. I am a grain farmer from Alberta growing wheat, canola and peas and have been involved in the canola and newly formed wheat commission in this province for the past 20 years. I take exception to your comments


Winter wheat a money-making crop

High potential yields, good prices and relatively low production costs 
have a growing number of farmers interested in winter wheat

It will be a month or so yet before Manitoba farmers get a peek at the winter wheat crop that lies beneath this winter’s heavily insulated snow blanket. Manitoba farmers seeded an estimated 560,000 acres of winter wheat under less-than-ideal, dry conditions last fall, but at least it’s well insulated with lots of snow. “I

Customers are not happy with wheat quality

The Canadian Grain Commission says it’s reassuring customers that changes to the wheat board won’t undermine Canada’s wheat quality, but some buyers say that it’s already undermined. “They were really concerned that we’d be like Australia (and) when we lost the single desk we’d lose quality control and we’d also lose variety control,” assistant chief


Argentina threatens barley export cap in bid to boost wheat crop

Grains behemoth Argentina is pushing farmers to produce more wheat by threatening to crack down on the fast-expanding barley sector, which growers are using as a hedge against export curbs, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. With national inflation seen by private economists at 30 per cent this year and global food

CWB lowers old-crop PRO in cereals

CWB has lowered Pool Return Outlooks (PROs) for wheat in its Harvest and Winter pools, according to an updated report released on March 15. Durum and barley PROs in the Harvest and Winter pools were also lowered, while canola values in both pools were unchanged to higher. Wheat PROs in the Harvest and Winter pools


Farmers urged to consider forming one, national association

Manitoba producer Danny Penner says there would be less duplication and better use of checkoff dollars

A Manitoba farmer mounting an effort to create one big commodity association says a splintered voice is not only expensive, it could cost farmers control of their industry. As the number of commodity organizations collecting checkoffs continues to grow, a 5,000-acre Manitoban farmer can be paying around $20,000 a year in checkoffs, said Danny Penner,

Grain World: Canadian canola acres shifting into wheat

Canadian farmers will plant more spring wheat and less canola in 2013, said Brenda Tjaden Lepp, chief analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions in a presentation at the annual Wild Oats Grain World conference in Winnipeg, Feb. 25. Factoring in relative returns, rotational issues, and what she was hearing from clients, Tjaden Lepp forecast spring wheat


Malt barley facing stiff competition

More malt barley in Western Canada will be grown solely on a contracted basis as increasing competition from easier-to-grow genetically modified crops will cause producers to turn away from malt barley, Patrick Rowan, senior manager of Canadian barley operations with BARI-Canada said at the annual Wild Oats Grainworld conference Feb. 26. Genetically modified soybeans and

Colourful, but effective

Both Alex Binkley and Allan Dawson relate some memories of the accomplishments of the late Eugene Whelan elsewhere in this issue, but we can’t let him leave us without noting one ambition he failed to achieve. Whelan desperately wanted to be minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board (never making a secret of it) but