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British food lobby warns of food shortages from no-deal Brexit

Reading Time: 3 minutes London | Reuters — Britain will experience shortages of some fresh foods for weeks or even months if a disorderly no-deal Brexit leaves perishable produce rotting in lorries at ports, Britain’s food and drink lobby warned on Wednesday. Retailers such as Tesco have warned that leaving the European Union on Oct. 31 without a transition […] Read more

David Kaminski, a field crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, urges producers to be aware of nearby streams when picking oat varieties, thanks to the prevalence of common buckthorn, a wild host for crown rust.

Wild host a thorn in the side for oat growers

Common buckthorn is a haven for crown rust spores over the winter and an easy source of infection if the farmer opts for a susceptible oat variety

Reading Time: 2 minutes Oat growers may want to gauge the distance to the nearest woody stream bed the next time they choose a variety. That’s one of the messages sent out during this year’s Crop Diagnostic School in Carman in the first two weeks of July. Why it matters: Manitoba’s most popular oat varieties have either been downgraded […] Read more


Cigi staff evaluate wheat flour for use in oriental noodles. (Cigi photo)

Cigi, Cereals Canada agree to pursue amalgamation

Reading Time: 5 minutes The boards of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and Cereals Canada have agreed to pursue amalgamation by March 31, 2020. That’s if a proposal, yet to be developed, is approved by the two bodies’ member organizations, leaders Dean Dias and Cam Dahl, said Friday in separate interviews. “During the past week, both boards have […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan: Less canola and durum, more barley and oats

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers seeded fewer canola and durum acres than they originally intended, but more barley and oats, according to updated acreage estimates from Statistics Canada that largely came within expectations. StatsCan pegged planted Canadian canola area for 2019-20 (August to July) at 20.952 million acres, down by about 300,000 from the March survey […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Less canola, more barley area expected in next StatsCan report

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers will likely grow less canola and more barley in 2019, though the jury is out on exact acreage numbers ahead of Statistics Canada’s seeded area estimates due out Wednesday. Barley prices have hit “historic highs” thanks to inclement corn-growing weather in the United States, which has buoyed most feed grain prices. […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain prices strong as dry weather persists

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Producers are anxious to stock up on feed grains as weather across the Prairies has remained dry. “We’ve been seeing buyers being quite aggressive [when] bidding on all feed grains,” explained Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in Lethbridge. “Nobody wants to be caught without anything over the summer.” With little precipitation in the forecast, […] Read more


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Oats market solid, watching weather

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Tight old-crop supplies are keeping oats prices well supported in Western Canada, although buyers are covered for the time being and waiting for a clearer picture on new-crop production. “It’s tough to find old-crop demand currently, as many larger-scale end-users are covered,” said Ryan McKnight of Linear Grain at Carman, Man. Most buyers […] Read more

Parrish and Heimbecker’s current elevator at Dutton Siding, west of Gilbert Plains, Man. (ParrishAndHeimbecker.com)

P+H plans new elevator east of Winnipeg

Reading Time: < 1 minute Grain company Parrish and Heimbecker is set to put up one of the easternmost primary grain elevators in Western Canada, not far from one of its existing sites. The privately held Winnipeg company announced Friday it will start construction this month on a 25,000-tonne capacity grain elevator on Canadian National Railway track at Dugald, Man., […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan confirms smaller canola acres, more wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers intend to seed more spring wheat and less canola in 2019, according to Statistics Canada survey results released Wednesday. Additional shifts are also likely in subsequent reports, as dry conditions in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan may alter some intentions. Statistics Canada forecast canola area for 2019 at 21.3 million acres, which […] Read more