A canola field in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 5, 2016 after the area was blanketed by wet snow.  (Lisa Guenther photo)

Canadian wheat, canola crops seen weathering snow

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s wheat and canola crops withstood wintry weather that stalled the autumn harvest, and production topped last year’s output, according to Reuters’ industry survey of 13 analysts and traders. Statistics Canada on Tuesday will issue its final crop production estimates for the 2016-17 marketing year. The industry expects, on average, all-wheat […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Weaker loonie underpins Prairie wheat bids

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Cash spring wheat and durum bids in Western Canada moved higher during the week ended Monday, as weakness in the Canadian dollar helped underpin basis levels. Depending on the location, average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were up $1-$5 per tonne compared to the previous week. Average prices ranged from […] Read more


(PHMilling.com)

Ottawa to back P+H’s Hamilton flour mill

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker has lined up more government financing for its planned new flour mill at Hamilton, this time from the federal level. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Thursday announced a $10 million “repayable investment” in the project from the AgriInnovation program, part of the Growing Forward 2 ag policy funding framework. […] Read more



Mildew damage on individual kernels of CWRS wheat. (GrainsCanada.gc.ca)

Canada resets mildew grading standards on milling wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s visual grading standards for mildew in Prairie milling wheat have been relaxed to reflect what’s now known about the actual quality of affected wheat. The Canadian Grain Commission on Friday announced new mildew guidelines, “effective immediately,” for western Canadian milling wheat classes, to allow for an “increased presence” of mildew in visual guides and […] Read more

(MGEX.com)

MGEX spring wheat futures pull away from winter wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Minneapolis spring wheat futures are pulling away from their winter wheat counterparts, as quality issues with the North American spring wheat crop bring in protein premiums, according to an analyst who said there was more room to the upside in spring wheat. Kansas City and Chicago winter wheat contracts hit 10-year lows […] Read more



The Nile River at Cairo. (CIA.gov)

Health ministry decision makes zero ergot Egypt’s new normal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Abu Dhabi/Cairo | Reuters — Egypt’s health ministry banned wheat with any ergot fungus on Monday, a decision traders said signals the zero tolerance policy that wreaked havoc on the country’s grain purchases earlier this year is back to stay. The decree, seen by Reuters, brings the ministry in line with an agriculture ministry decree […] Read more


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

Egypt’s GASC cancels wheat tender as ergot policy bites

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo/Abu Dhabi | Reuters — Egypt’s ability to buy wheat from abroad while demanding zero ergot fungus in shipments was dealt a serious blow on Wednesday, with state grain buyer GASC cancelling its tender after receiving just one offer. It was the country’s first tender to purchase wheat since it reinstated its zero-tolerance ergot policy […] Read more

The Nile River at Cairo. (CIA.gov)

Egypt bans ergot in wheat, again

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cairo/Abu Dhabi | Reuters — Egypt reinstated on Sunday a controversial ban on wheat shipments containing even the slightest amount of a common grain fungus, baffling traders who had returned to the Egyptian market just last month when the ban was lifted. The world’s largest wheat importer said on Sunday it was re-introducing its zero […] Read more