Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — What’s really happening with this year’s flax crop is going to be revealed in the next few weeks as farmers get into their fields. Statistics Canada predicted in a production report, released Aug. 31, that both Saskatchewan’s and Canada’s flax production this year would be 13.7 per cent less than in 2016. […] Read more
Lower Prairie flax production, decent quality expected
China’s requirements leave Canadian flax piling up
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– Stalled demand from a key international buyer has caused a buildup of flax inventories in Canada, with more crops on the way. Demand on the ingredient side of the flax market has been steady, said Mike Popowich of processing firm TA Foods at Yorkton, Sask. “But we’ve experienced a bit of a […] Read more
Flax Council cautions on seed integrity
Reading Time: < 1 minute With the latest official acreage estimates showing a jump in flax acres across much of Western Canada, the Flax Council of Canada is urging caution. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest Seeded Acreage Report is expecting 1.1 million acres to go into the ground this year, putting pressure on seed supplies, and putting the integrity of […] Read more
Higher prices could give flax acres a chance
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Strong demand for Canadian flax, combined with small production, has driven prices up, which could tempt producers making seeding choices this spring. Last year, the amount of flax seeded in Canada was down about a third from the previous growing season. As a result, stocks are short, despite large carryover. Demand, however, […] Read more
Prairies tell a tale of two flax crops
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — A large portion of Canada’s flaxseed crop is still in the field, leaving questions over the size and quality of what will eventually be harvested. About a third of the flaxseed crop is still left in the field in Saskatchewan, by the estimate of Tom Leier, senior grain buyer with Scoular Special […] Read more
Flax growers scout soggy fields as prices edge upward
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Producers are assessing the effects of weekend rains that soaked flax crops in Western Canada, while prices have ticked up slightly as data reflects shrinking acres. Flax fields in western Manitoba saw thunderstorms and powerful winds, which knocked out power in some areas of the province during the weekend. Parts of southeastern […] Read more
Flax industry fighting to regain lost acres
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — After losing ground to pulses this year, a flax industry group is working on ways to be competitive going forward. “It’s the year of the pulses, and certainly growers are taking advantage of good prices for pulses,” said Don Kerr, president at the Flax Council of Canada, referring to the United Nations […] Read more
Flax expected to lose a third of acres
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Canada’s flax acres are expected to fall about a third from last year’s levels, according to Statistics Canada data. One market participant says weaker prices have influenced farmers, while another says smaller crops are often overlooked during surveys. StatsCan estimates flax’s seeded area at about 1.1 million acres, compared with 1.6 million acres […] Read more
Eight tips for growing flax
Agronomy researcher Chris Holzapfel shares what he’s learned about growing flax
If you count each research plot as a crop, Chris Holzapfel – a research manager for the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation – has grown more crops in a few years than most farmers have a chance to grow in a lifetime. Holzapfel’s research includes several different crops, but at a recent Saskatchewan Oilseed Producer[...]
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Flax on the road to recovery in a post-Triffid world
Flax is back now that a GM variety is flushed out of the system, but there’s new competition from the former Soviet Union
Reading Time: 5 minutes After six years, the “Day of the Triffids” appears to be ending for Canada’s flaxseed industry. Triffid is a genetically modified variety of flax that was rather unfortunately named after the creatures in The Day of the Triffids, a 1951 novel about carnivorous plants bioengineered in the USSR that escape and blind people with their[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
