Oil World ups global rapeseed forecast

hamburg / reuters / Analyst Hamburg Oil World predicts the 2012-13 rapeseed/canola crop will rise by two million tonnes this year to 61.6 million tonnes. It estimates Canadian production will be 16.2 million tonnes — up from 14.5 million tonnes last year. It predicts China will import 2.7 million tonnes (up from 2.4 million last

Expert says climate change may be driving floods

Climate data suggests weather patterns are changing and flooding on the Assiniboine River may become more frequent, says John Pomeroy, director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Hydrology. It’s not just the three consecutive years of heavy spring rains that concern the professor, who is also a Canada research chair in water resources and



New CWB focuses on Western Canada

But it can now extend its reach Starting Aug. 1 the new CWB will be able to buy and sell grain of any type from anywhere in Canada, but its immediate focus is its traditional territory — Western Canada. “We have no immediate plans to do business in other parts of Canada,” CWB spokesperson Maureen



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


Dry heat helps fields recover from excess moisture

Weekly Provincial Summary  The continuing warm and dry weather conditions are advancing crops, allowing producers to make good progress with haying operations, and permitting herbicide and fungicide applications to continue.  Strong weather systems passed through parts of the Southwest, Northwest and Central Regions causing damage to trees and farm infrastructure. Only impact to crops noted

Spring wheat posts its highest price of open-market era

Watch for rising wedges in bear markets and falling wedges in bull markets, where they are most apt to occur

Red spring wheat grading No. 1 13.5 per cent protein reached $8 per bushel for the 2012-13 crop year. This is the highest price farmers have been able to lock in, since the open-market era was announced in mid-December 2011. True to form, wheat prices began their seasonal turn higher, just as the U.S. winter



Appeal Court upholds “marketing freedom” law

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz didn’t break the law by introducing legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly, the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled. “We are pleased with this decision,” Ritz said in an email. In December, Federal Court Justice Douglas Campbell agreed with the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board that Ritz breached