Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers should add refuge seed to most Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Soft White Spring (SWS) wheat varieties in 2018 to prolong the longevity of the midge-tolerance Sm1 gene, says Todd Hyra, western business manager for seed marketing agency SeCan. Last spring, Canadian researchers discovered Sm1 in most SWS varieties, including AAC Indus, AC […] Read more
Protect your midge-tolerant wheat
The midge-tolerance gene was found in the majority of SWS wheats in 2017. Refuge seed is required to keep this trait in play
Feed weekly outlook: Shipping to feedlots becomes problem
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– Spring has sprung on the Prairies, meaning road bans are starting, leading to problems shipping feed grains to feedlots in Alberta. “The supply is actually there at the farm gate but getting the supply from the farm gate to the end-user means more truck logistics and higher freight rates typically,” said Jim […] Read more
Empty soils
Today’s big-yield genetics really are draining the nutrient supply in our soils
Reading Time: 6 minutes The power of today’s corn hybrids and soybean varieties to exceed farmers’ expectations is a testament to the science of plant breeding, and also to the value of selecting the best elite genetics. That farmers in Eastern Canada have been able to push corn yields to 200 bu./ac. and soybeans to 60 bu./ac., even in […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prairie wheat stored as southern Plains dry out
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — A rise in U.S. corn prices has helped lift the entire feed market in southern Alberta, though one industry expert says it isn’t the only factor strengthening the market. “Barley is getting increasingly difficult to buy as we clean up old-crop supplies,” said Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities at Lethbridge. Cattle […] Read more
Prairie malt barley prices lower than feed
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — With feed barley in tight supply, the tables have flipped with feed prices now sitting higher than those for malt barley in Western Canada. Feed barley prices “make some of these other prices look a bit ridiculous. There’s no demand from the domestic maltsters because they’ve all been plugged up ever since […] Read more
Governing the farm
On most farms, ‘governance’ sounds like the last thing you’d want to talk about if you hope to keep everyone happy. Steve Tomtene used to think so too, but is glad he changed his mind
Reading Time: 5 minutes Like many farms with added complementary enterprises like a trucking company or livestock barn or a seed business, Tomtene Seed Farm at Birch Hill, Sask., has developed systems to juggle all the moving parts. “Maintaining identification and producing seed products of quality merit takes a shift in thinking about the products, about production, about the […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Canada importing more U.S. DDGS
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — A better-quality Canadian grain crop in 2017 has opened the door to increased imports of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) from the U.S., as Canadian livestock feeders look for other options. Canada imported about 700,000 tonnes of the ethanol byproduct from the U.S. in 2017, the largest imports since 2011 and […] Read more
Smucker seen considering sale for Robin Hood, other baking brands
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — J.M. Smucker is considering a sale of its baking brands, including Pillsbury and Robin Hood, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The unit could fetch as much as US$700 million (C$902.4 million), Bloomberg reported, citing one of the sources. A final decision to pursue a sale has not been […] Read more
Better than meets the eye?
Canada’s quality-control system still has a lot of support, but some are calling for grades to be determined by machines, not the human eye
Reading Time: 4 minutes Is that No. 2 CWRS just as good for milling and baking as a No. 1? Or does that No. 1 CWRS have some quality damage that can’t be seen with the naked eye, making it no better than a No. 2? The answer could be yes in both cases, sometimes, in cases that might […] Read more
Sleeman investing to bring back production from U.S.
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s third-biggest national brewer plans upgrades at its southwestern Ontario plant, with which it plans to bring back some production it now contracts out to a U.S. brewery. Guelph-based Sleeman Breweries, owned since 2006 by Japanese brewer Sapporo, announced Monday it will invest $6.61 million to expand packaging capability, put up new beer tanks and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
