Poorly-treated wheat seed, inoculated with f. graminearum.  Photo: Lisa Guenther

Know how to identify these three seedling diseases

Seedling diseases can weaken cereals, leaving plants susceptible to other stresses, Brittney Kroeker told attendees at Bayer’s SeedGrowth Solutions Expo in Saskatoon this spring. Kroeker went through some of the top seedling diseases in cereals. Here are her tips for identifying three seedling disease in cereals.

Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt court ruling revives row over ergot in wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo | Reuters — A court that ordered the suspension of Egypt’s food inspection system based its ruling in part on the quarantine service’s right to ban grain imports with any trace of the ergot fungus, raising the possibility the contested rule could be restored. The government’s new food inspection system simplified trade after a[...]
Read more



This batch of bread made with CWRS rose nicely in part because there is some salt in the dough.

Cutting down on the salt

Bakers at Cigi are showing international customers how to bake bread with less sodium

Reading Time: 3 minutes The bakers at the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) are hearing the same message as the rest of us: Cut down on the salt. “The aim of Cigi’s pilot bakery is to replicate what the industry does,” says Yvonne Supeene, head of baking technology. “We reduced the salt level in all bread formulations, and in[...]
Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Strong demand keeps Prairie feed barley well supported

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Feed barley bids remain well supported in Western Canada, as solid demand and reluctant farmer selling keep the market underpinned heading into the summer months. “There is pretty decent demand. I’d say higher than average for this time of year,” said Brandon Motz, sales manager with CorNine Commodities in Lacombe, Alta. Strong[...]
Read more

Spring wheat futures climb to two-year highs

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Spring wheat futures in Minneapolis climbed to their highest levels in nearly two years during the week ended Friday, as weather concerns in major U.S. wheat-growing states provided support. The nearby July contract on Thursday hit a session high of US$6.1775 per bushel, the strongest level for the front-month spring wheat contract[...]
Read more


Sunset in Egypt on the Nile River south of Luxor. (CIA.gov)

Egypt’s wheat imports again uncertain as ergot ban looms

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo | Reuters — An Egyptian court has decided to reinstate a zero tolerance policy on common grain fungus ergot, lawyers on the case told Reuters on Tuesday, plunging trade with the world’s largest wheat importer back into uncertainty. Egypt last year scrapped a ban on ergot in grain imports after it effectively halted purchase[...]
Read more

Consultations sought on grading U.S. wheat imports

Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain industry consultations are needed before the Canada Grain Act is amended to allow imported U.S. wheat to receive a Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) grade, the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commssion says. “(W)e need to have public consultations to figure out the consequences of adding more American grain to our system,” Sask Wheat chair Bill Gehl[...]
Read more


Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay (l) and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue meet in Toronto on June 5. (Government of Canada photo)

U.S. asks Canada to end ‘underhanded’ dairy pricing class

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The United States has asked Canada to eliminate a new “underhanded” dairy-pricing class that has undercut sales by U.S. dairies to Canadian processors, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Monday. Perdue was speaking to reporters after he met with Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay in Toronto. Canada’s dairy farmers last year struck a[...]
Read more

(Michael Thompson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Early U.S. winter wheat harvest supports low-protein fears

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The earliest reports from the start of the U.S. hard red winter wheat harvest underscored industry fears of a second straight year of low protein, a factor that shifts the market’s focus to prospects for the North American spring wheat crop, a higher-protein variety. “It’s probably a foregone conclusion at this[...]
Read more