(File photo by Lorraine Stevenson)

Farmer deliveries well above average in April

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Farmer deliveries of major grains into the Canadian commercial pipeline were up substantially in April, hitting their third-highest monthly total on record, according to updated data Statistics Canada released Monday. Farmers in April delivered 5.868 million tonnes of major grains, about a million tonnes above the monthly average during the 2019-20 crop-year-to-date, and […] Read more

(Qingwa/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA sets coronavirus aid payments for corn, soy, wheat

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farmers that grow crops including corn and soybeans will receive coronavirus assistance payments based on either half of their 2019 production or the supplies they had on hand as of Jan. 15, the government said on Tuesday. The coronavirus aid is the latest in a round of government payments that […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Adjustments likely ahead for StatsCan’s early acreage estimates

Projections still in line with grain trade's expectations

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The results of the first acreage estimates for 2020 from Statistics Canada come with an asterisk, as the COVID-19 pandemic halted data collection early. Canada’s actual seeded area is expected to see some shifts from the projections released Thursday. “As a result of the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic, these estimates were produced […] Read more



Diligent screening of susceptible varieties and better fungicide timing means growers are managing fusarium head blight.

New cereal fungicide seeks to carve out its own niche

Cerefit's dual mode of action acts as a preventive and curative

Reading Time: 4 minutes In the fight against diseases in winter wheat in Eastern Canada, the agri-food industry has done a remarkable job in effectively managing fusarium head blight — for decades considered the crop’s greatest disease threat. Seed companies have screened and eliminated susceptible varieties while timing of fungicide applications has advanced to the extent that fusarium is […] Read more

Gordon Harrison. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Allan Dawson)

Lots of flour to go around, millers’ association says

System is 'doing extremely well' and should have no problem keeping up with demand, CNMA's Gordon Harrison says

Reading Time: 2 minutes The grain supply chain is working as it should during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the president of the Canadian National Millers Association. “From the milling industry vantage point, the movement of grain from farm to the producer to the elevator systems to mills is doing extremely well,” Gordon Harrison said Tuesday. “The grain supply chain […] Read more


Ardent Mills’ milling facility at Saskatoon. (ArdentMills.com)

North America’s millers, bakers scramble to satisfy bread binge

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — North American flour mills and bakeries are rushing to boost production as the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus leads to consumer stockpiling of staples such as bread and pasta. The virus’ spread prompted orders to stay at home in some U.S. states, including New York, California and Illinois last week, following […] Read more

Wheat leaf rust. (James Kolmer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Digital supercluster backs precision fungicide development

Project aims at wheat leaf rust, reducing pesticide load

Reading Time: 3 minutes A West Coast ag tech company in the crop pest control business is setting its sights on wheat leaf rust, with support from one of Canada’s five research superclusters — but not the cluster you might expect. Out of the five federally-supported superclusters launched in early 2018, Protein Industries Canada has been most closely linked […] Read more


Granvita is Grupo Vida’s consumer oats brand, including breakfast cereals, snacks, granola, oatmeal, oat flakes and oat milk. (Granvita.com)

Mexico wants Canadian oats

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Mexico’s largest oat manufacturer is calling for Canadian oat producers to explore new varieties and increase acreage in order to keep up with global demand. Jorge Sanchez, chief financial officer of Mexico’s Corporativo Grupo Vida Internacional, said Canada’s oat crops need to “adapt to changing growing conditions” in order to meet world demand, […] Read more

(Greg Berg photo)

Oat area poised to rise

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Solid prices and growing demand — and risk aversion among growers — should see more oat acres seeded in Canada in 2020, with early signs pointing to the largest oat crop in more than a decade. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada predicted 2020 oat area at 3.93 million acres in its January report, which […] Read more