The Canadian Grain Commission building on Main Street in Winnipeg. (File photo)

Canola Council chief to lead Grain Commission

Reading Time: 2 minutes The point person for Canada’s canola industry will become the chief executive of Canada’s grain handling regulator starting in mid-February. Patti Miller, the president of the Canola Council of Canada since 2012, will start a six-year term as chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission on Feb. 13, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced Tuesday. […] Read more

(File photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canadian canola exports picking up

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Weekly Canadian canola exports hit their second-highest level of the marketing year to date during the latest reporting period, although total out-of-country business is still running behind the year-ago level. Canada exported 293,300 tonnes of canola during the week ended Sunday, according to the latest Canadian Grain Commission data. That compares with […] Read more


Samples from the different companies are blended into composites according to wheat class. These then undergo extensive analysis of milling and flour properties.

Showing off the new crop

Harvest assessment is key to quality seminars for international wheat customers

Reading Time: 3 minutes This past fall the Canadian International Grains Institute collected grain samples from across Western Canada to complete its annual harvest assessment in preparation for worldwide customer seminars on crop quality. “It’s important that we get the information out as quickly as possible on what’s coming through the system so customers can see what they’ll be […] Read more

Fababeans. (TamayoProduce.com)

Ergot tolerances set for chickpeas, fababeans

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chickpeas and fababean crops graded in Canada will have a new maximum tolerance for ergot next year, even though the cereal disease doesn’t occur in either crop. The Canadian Grain Commission on Wednesday announced an ergot tolerance of 0.05 per cent for all grades of fababeans and chickpeas in Western Canada effective Aug. 1, 2017, […] Read more


Randy Dennis (l), chief grain inspector for Canada talks to farmers attending the grain grading seminar in Yorkton, Sask.

Getting the scoop on grain grading

Farmers get a better understanding of frost damage, colour, mildew, sprouting and other downgrading factors

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta recently had the opportunity to learn hands-on about how their grain is graded after delivery to their local elevator. In July, grain-grading seminars were held for farmers in Yorkton and Swift Current, Sask. for the first time as a joint effort between the Canadian International Grains Institute, Canadian Grain Commission […] 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


“It takes a little time to build that trust,” Jochum admits. But taking control of marketing increases his control of his farm’s future.

Active marketing on the farm

On these farms, marketing is no longer a matter of waiting for the right price

Reading Time: 7 minutes No matter how closely they watch the skies, farmers can’t control the weather. Nor do they have any influence over the amount of volatility in their markets. But pricing? Well that, says Irmi Critcher, is one aspect of farming that producers can exercise some control over, and that she works hard at. “You can put […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

New crop year reminders for western producers and industry

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Grain Commission is reminding the grain industry and producers about grain grading changes that come into effect on August 1, 2016 in Western Canada. Primary and export grade determinant tables for the new Canada Northern Hard Red and Canada Western Special Purpose wheat classes take effect. Canada Western Feed, Canada Western General Purpose […] Read more


Dozens of prospective varieties are sampled for milling and baking characteristics before they can be recommended to become part of a Canadian wheat class.

Showing how new wheat varieties perform

Cigi represents the end-use customer at the table when new varieties are being considered for registration

Reading Time: 3 minutes Last February the Prairie Grain Development Committee recommended registration of crop lines that included 27 new wheat varieties. Technical staff from the Canadian International Grains Institute participated on quality evaluation teams involved in the recommendations, representing end-use interests of customers of Canadian grains from around the world. “The annual meeting is designed to evaluate data […] Read more

Boundary Loading Group’s producer car loading facility at Darlingford, Man., about 20 km west of Morden, loads 120-130 producer cars per year. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Window open wider for comment on CGC licensing moves

Reading Time: 2 minutes Facing “requests from stakeholders,” the Canadian Grain Commission has granted them a 12-week extension on its deadline for comments on plans to license feed mills, producer car loading sites and grain agents. The deadline, previously June 3, is now Aug. 31, the commission said in a release Friday. Input is being sought from producer railway […] Read more