(AvenaFoods.com)

Prairie processors plan gluten-free partnership

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Saskatchewan firm processing gluten-free oats is pairing up with a Manitoba pulse miller to expand Prairie producers’ space in the certified gluten-free market. Portage la Prairie-based Best Cooking Pulses and Regina-based Avena Foods on Monday announced a new partnership agreement they say will boost cross-selling and market penetration. Financial terms of the partnership, which […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola stocks look less tight in StatsCan report

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian farmers grew a record amount of canola in 2017, despite weather concerns, according to updated production estimates on Wednesday from Statistics Canada. The agency pegged production in 2017-18 at 21.3 million tonnes, up from the September estimate of 19.7 million and last year’s total of 19.6 million. The rise in production […] Read more


Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Larger crops expected in StatsCan report

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canada’s canola and wheat production likely ended up larger than earlier expectations, but just how much more remains to be seen, as industry participants await the Statistics Canada production report due out Wednesday. “The finish seemed to be better than what the weather looked like earlier in the year,” said Neil Townsend […] Read more

The consistently highest yields were on narrower row spacing, combined with high rates of side-banded N, but all row spacing — even 24 inches — produced viable yields as long as environmental conditions were conducive and weeds effectively controlled.

The best crop row spacing is…

A multi-year study suggests there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question

Reading Time: 6 minutes The question of the best row spacing has been asked even more often in recent years, and it turns out that the answer is the same as for many other questions in farming — “It depends.” But on what? A multi-year study by researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Indian Head Agricultural Research […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Trade expecting bigger canola, wheat numbers from StatsCan

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian farmers harvested the biggest canola crop on record, slightly larger than was expected in September, a Reuters survey of 15 traders and analysts showed ahead of a key government report. Wheat production is also seen higher than earlier expectations, as favourable weather produced big yields. Statistics Canada will release its final crop […] Read more

Photo: File

Cash ticket deferral option to remain unchanged

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government is leaving its deferred cash purchase ticket policy unchanged. When listed grains (wheat, oats, barley, rye, flax, canola, rapeseed) are delivered for payment at a licensed elevator, an elevator operator can issue either a cash purchase ticket or a deferred cash purchase ticket, payable in the year following the year in which […] Read more


Linda Hall is looking for the right combination of variety choice and agronomic practices to make oats more attractive to growers in central Alberta.

The Catch-22 of oat production

Tests in central Alberta yield some useful information on N rates and the effectiveness of plant growth regulators

Reading Time: 4 minutes Linda Hall has a soft spot for the humble oat, mainly because she doesn’t think it’s really all that humble. “Milling oats are a high-value crop,” Hall says. “We’re seeing companies like Richardson buying up oat milling capacity, so the markets are there if we can grow the right kind of oat.” It all depends […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Major retailers say federal bread pricing probe underway

Reading Time: < 1 minute Major Canadian grocery retailers Metro and Loblaw say a federal investigation is underway concerning the pricing of certain commercial bread products. Toronto-based Loblaw and its parent firm, George Weston Ltd., announced Tuesday they’re aware of an “industry-wide investigation” by the federal Competition Bureau concerning a “price-fixing scheme involving certain packaged bread products.” The two companies […] Read more


(Photo courtesy General Mills via Flickr)

Cheerios to remove ‘gluten-free’ claim

Reading Time: 3 minutes The maker of Cheerios cereal is pulling a controversial “gluten-free” claim from the product’s Canadian packaging starting in 2018, over what it says is a lack of a “consistent” testing protocol for oat products. General Mills announced last week it will remove the “gluten-free” claim from Cheerios sold in Canada starting in January, though it […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Organic grain firm picks up elevator near border

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Minneapolis startup in the organic grain business has bought a northwestern North Dakota elevator that further expands its southern Prairie catchment. Pipeline Foods — which has hung out its shingle as a buyer of organic, non-GMO wheat, pulses and oats for food and feed — announced Tuesday it has bought a CHS elevator at […] Read more