Uncertainty Threatens Research Investment In Canada

Syngenta Canada president Jay Bradshaw says wheat is Canada’s next “Cinderella” crop, but warns that the opportunity could be lost if governments stray from science-based regulations, discouraging private research investment. “My biggest competitors are inside our own global research budget,” Bradshaw told the Western Canadian Wheat Growers convention in Vancouver last week. “We need to

A – for Jan. 13, 2011

new plant disease in canola hasn’t made its way from Alberta to Manitoba yet but producers are still being warned to watch out for it. Field surveys in 2010 found no signs of clubroot in Manitoba canola crops, producers at St. Jean Farm Days heard. But farmers should still take steps to guard against the


Get Second Opinion On Green Canola

Given the higher-than-usual levels of green seed in the 2010 canola crop, growers are being urged to seek more than one opinion on the grades of their own loads. “Remember that ‘distinctly green’ is a subjective analysis, requiring graders to decide whether marginal lime-green seeds count as ‘distinctly green’ or not,” the Canola Council of

Letters – for Dec. 2, 2010

The November 18 issue was very interesting reading and has prompted me to write to compliment Laura Rance for her excellent editorial on the changes in the Animal Care Act and the increased authority for provincial animal-welfare officers. I also have to say that the two letters to the editor regarding dogs riding in the


Monsanto Committed To Canola

Derek Penner was an infant when canola, a healthier derivative of rapeseed, was first developed in 1974 at the University of Manitoba in collaboration with Agriculture Canada. Last week, the youthful president of Monsanto Canada helped open Monsanto’s new $12-million canola-breeding centre at the U of M’s Smartpark. “It embodies Monsanto’s very best in research

CWB Needs A Strong Future Vision

Farmers have fought hard and with passion to have their voices heard around the table of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). What farmers need are leaders who not only represent their business interests, but who have a vision for a strong and successful CWB in two to 10 years from now. This leadership needs to


Seed Ban Has Silver Lining

China’s partial ban on canola seed imports from Canada last year was a boon to value-added exports of oil and meal to that country. While exports of canola seed to China fell in 2009 after it declared it would no longer accept Canadian canola unless it was certified free of the fungal disease blackleg, exports

Farmers Welcome Canola Crush Expansion

Bunge’s plan to more than double the capacity of its canola-crushing plant at Altona to 2,500 tonnes a day is good news for farmers, but it also means they’ll have to grow more canola. “We’re always glad to see investment in the canola crush because it creates demand and more demand must mean they are


Canadian Frost Hits Canola Quality Hard

The canola crop in Canada’s top two growing provinces may be the lowest quality in five years after widespread frost halted growth in immature plants, a Canola Council of Canada official said Sept. 22. Excessive spring rain delayed planting in Saskatchewan and Alberta, leaving much of the immature oil-seed crop vulnerable with unripe, green seeds

Blackleg Is Widespread – for Aug. 5, 2010

The Canola Council of Canada’s latest Canola Watch says the insect watch has entered a critical phase. There has been spraying for lygus, bertha army worm and diamondback moth larvae in some regions. The report said blackleg is widespread in southern Manitoba. Disease severity on infected plants is still low right now, but severity can