Puratone deal leaves farmers hanging

Manitoba farmers owed at least $1 million for feed grains delivered to financially troubled Puratone Corp. are left holding an empty bag with its pending sale to Maple Leaf. Earlier this month Maple Leaf Foods, which operates a hog-slaughtering plant in Brandon, announced it was buying Puratone for $42 million. Puratone’s liabilities total nearly $100

CGC fees to jump 44 per cent

Despite shaving $20 million in costs 
the CGC proposes a big increase 
in user fees so Ottawa no 
longer has to pay the bill

In its government-ordered drive to cost recovery, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) wants the grain industry to pay an extra $16.7 million a year in user fees effective Aug. 2013. That’s a 44 per cent increase amounting to an extra $1.38 a tonne on total CGC-inspected Canadian grain exports. The figures are contained in the


Industry surprised grain act amendments don’t go further

Most of the amendments to the Canada Grain Act tabled in the House of Commons last week were expected. What wasn’t is that the changes cutting the 100-year-old Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) role in the grain industry were buried in the controversial 457-page omnibus budget implementation bill. The legislation doesn’t change the CGC’s mandate or

Richardson’s Vancouver terminal maxed out

Richardson International plans to expand its 108,000-tonne Vancouver grain export terminal by 65 per cent to keep up with its growing business, the Winnipeg-based company announced last week. “Obviously with the changes to the Canadian Wheat Board it’s a much more competitive landscape, but there are also a lot more opportunities,” Tracey Shelton, Richardson International’s director of corporate


2012-13 crop year — so far, so good

It’s early days but the grain pipeline is working smoothly 
in wake of the new open market for wheat and barley

So far, so good. That sums up Western Canada’s 2012-13 crop year following the introduction of an open market for wheat and barley Aug. 1. But it’s still early days, say grain company officials. “It’s really too early to say a lot on the logistics side,” Ward Weisensel, CWB’s chief operating officer, said in an

Ottawa allocates $349 million for voluntary CWB

The money, similar to what the former 
directors estimated, 
will cover open-market 
transition costs

The federal government will spend up to $349 million to cover the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) extraordinary costs as it moves to an open market Aug. 1. “The CWB must be as nimble, flexible and efficient as possible without being encumbered with costs related to the past,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said at a news


Canadian exporters stymied by high costs

Canadian exporters are stymied by higher costs, including government fees, than their competitors and as a result Canada is only doing OK as an exporter, says Rob Bryson, vice-president of Parrish & Heimbecker. Despite buoyant commodity markets, the world is walking on the edge of another bout of bad economic times, he warned the annual

CWB has limited success striking deals with grain handlers

The Canadian Wheat Board’s limited success in teaming up with grain handlers to survive the loss of its marketing monopoly is raising doubts about price pooling, a nearly century-old way for farmers to manage their price risk. The CWB, which loses its monopoly on Aug. 1 and becomes one of many buyers of farmers’ grain,


Living the good life in Inglis

For years, every Prairie town had hubs for its business and social life: a grain elevator, a general store, a garage, a café, the post office, churches and the hotel. With the passage of time, most of these landmarks have gone the way of the dinosaur, but many towns still have a hotel. Inglis, Manitoba

One GRL scientist and his revolutionary technology

By Val Ominski Protein has always made the wheat world go round, but it became even more important in the mid-1960s when some of the world’s major wheat producers began selling wheat according to protein content. In response, the Canadian Grain Commission developed a method for segregating wheat based on protein content — thereby increasing