Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Following an expected 11.4 per cent drop in Saskatchewan’s chickpea harvest this year, provincial pulse specialist Dale Risula is expecting an increase in 2021. In Statistics Canada’s most recent field crop report, issued last week, chickpea production in Saskatchewan was estimated to have dropped from 224,600 tonnes in 2019 to 199,010 tonnes this […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea production expected up in 2021
Saskatchewan lentil crop projections raise skepticism
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — There’s a little skepticism towards Statistics Canada’s projections for this fall’s lentil crop in Saskatchewan. The federal agency on Monday pegged the province’s 2020 lentil crop to come in at around 2.61 million tonnes on about 3.73 million acres. That’s almost a 26 per cent jump in production on a 13.2 per cent […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil crop expected to spike in Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — One bright spot for Alberta agriculture in 2020 has been the province’s lentil crop. The amount of the pulse grown this year skyrocketed by more than 173 per cent than compared to 2019, according to Statistics Canada. The federal agency reported Monday that lentil production in Alberta is set to hit a record […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Fababeans staying on field
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — As other crops make their way into the bin, fababeans across the Prairies are lagging behind. “They’re further behind this year because they were later going in,” said Dale McManus, a broker with Johnston Grains at Welwyn, Sask. Saskatchewan grows over half of Canada’s fababeans, and most are grown around the Yorkton area, […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Large Canadian crops expected
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canada will have grown a record-large pea crop in 2020 and possibly the second-largest lentil crop ever, according to preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada, released Monday. Using satellite imagery and model-based yield estimates, the government agency pegged the 2020-21 Canadian field pea crop at 4.996 million tonnes. That would be a new record […] Read more
Bunge buys into canola, pea protein maker Merit
Agribusiness giant takes quarter stake in processor
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the world’s biggest grain companies is getting in on a processing facility under construction in Winnipeg to extract plant-based proteins from canola and peas. Winnipeg-based Merit Functional Foods announced Thursday it has received a $30 million “capital investment” from Bunge, giving the U.S. grain firm a “minority interest” worth 25 per cent. Burcon […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Harvest activity pressures lentils
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — With harvest activity beginning across most of the Prairies, pulse prices are experiencing typical harvest pressure. About 20 per cent of the lentil crop has been harvested in Saskatchewan, according to the province’s crop report from Thursday. The west-central region lagged furthest behind the province’s average rate, with just seven per cent of […] Read more
Nestle launching pea-based vegan alternative to tuna
'Vuna' going first to Swiss supermarkets
Reading Time: < 1 minute Zurich | Reuters — Food giant Nestle is launching a new plant-based tuna alternative in Switzerland this month ahead of a global rollout, hoping that consumers eating at home during the COVID-19 pandemic will stay eager to try new products. Known for Maggi soups and bouillon cubes, Nestle has been investing in plant-based food to […] Read more
Pulse weekly: Harvest pressure now hitting lentils
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — As the harvest begins to ramp up across Canada, lentil prices have begun to feel some of the downward pressure. However, to Marcos Mosnaim of Globeways Canada Inc. at Mississauga, Ont. there’s more to the recent declines. “We are feeling pressure from other origins. As United States green lentils are selling much cheaper […] Read more
Plant-protein processor’s new processing plant gets grant
Feds, province put up cash for new equipment
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal and Manitoba governments have added a seven-figure contribution to their support for a new facility to process plant proteins from canola and peas. Merit Functional Foods will put the additional money toward “new equipment purchases that will support the transformation of raw inputs into value-added goods.” The unspecified new technology is expected to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
