Reading Time: 4 minutes Malting barley can be one of the most profitable crops in Western Canada — if you can grow it, and if you can sell it. That’s not necessarily easy. Many farmers try — it’s estimated that 80 per cent of the barley sown in Western Canada is seeded to malting varieties. But only about 20 […] Read more
The malting lottery continues
Having barley accepted for malting has never been a sure thing, and that’s still the case following changes to the marketing system
Wheat class changes see the end of KVD
Kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) ended on paper in 2008, but new changes to wheat classes mean it will also end in practice
Reading Time: 4 minutes For decades, it was “What you see is what you get” when buying Canadian wheat. Not only did new varieties have to perform well in the field and in the bakery, they had to look similar to all the other varieties in their class. That helped ensure the consistency which has been such a strong […] Read more
Making change for cereal crop development
In the wake of deregulation, the cereals sector has needed to reorganize itself, and so far it seems like the major pieces have been picked up
Reading Time: 7 minutes When the Canadian Wheat Board was losing the single desk, there was no shortage of dire predictions about what the fallout might be. Even many of those in favour of an open market conceded that there were a lot of moving parts, and it was going to be necessary to proceed with caution lest very […] Read more
Changes to CGC’s Western wheat classes coming Aug. 1
Reading Time: 3 minutes Come Aug. 1, Western Canada will get a new ninth milling wheat class, Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR), that’s expected to open up opportunities for higher-yielding wheats, while preserving the quality reputation of the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) classes. U.S. Dark Northern Spring varieties Faller, Prosper and Elgin […] Read more
Prairie crops had a bit of everything in 2015
Drought in the western Prairies had a lot of people concerned about production last season, but the latest information suggests the crop was bigger and better quality than expected
Reading Time: 5 minutes You can see it in the numbers — the StatsCan canola numbers that is. In August the agency predicted 2015 canola production at 13.3 million tonnes. By October that number had risen to 14.3 million tonnes and one industry watcher says it could be headed even higher. David Drozd of market advisory Ag-Chieve told Country […] Read more
Huge weekly canola deliveries In latest CGC report
Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg/Commodity News Service Canada – ‘A lack of significant farmer selling’ has been a common talking point from analysts whenever they’ve had to account for some unexplained strength in the canola market in recent weeks. However, that line may need to be retired, as the official data tells a different story. According to Canadian Grain […] Read more
Wheat quality conundrum
Changes to the marketing system make providing consistent shipments more difficult than under the days of the CWB
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was in 2012 that the first complaints began to trickle in. Buyers long accustomed to high-quality Canadian wheat started expressing disappointment in the quality of their shipments. From nearly a tonne of peas in a 25-tonne wheat shipment to lower-than-expected protein levels and grade divergences, over the next few years the first quiet questions […] Read more
Huge weekly canola deliveries in latest CGC report
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A “lack of significant farmer selling” has been a common talking point from analysts when they’ve had to account for some unexplained strength in the canola market in recent weeks. That line may now need to be retired, however, as the official data tells a different story. According to Canadian Grain Commission […] Read more
Three things to read in your grain contract
Reading Time: 3 minutes Do you read your grain contracts from front to back? If so, you’re one of the few who do. A University of Manitoba study found only 17 per cent of Canadian farmers read their whole grain contracts — and that’s a mistake, says a grain industry expert. “For every grain buyer out there, the terms […] Read more
Canada’s durum wheat and the couscous factor
Canada’s durum meets the high quality requirements of its biggest market
Reading Time: 3 minutes Although durum wheat is synonymous with pasta as an end product, Canada’s biggest durum-importing region actually uses a significant percentage of its imports for couscous. “North Africa is different from the rest of the world with respect to the use of durum because a lot of it is used for couscous, whereas when the rest […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
