2 hearth breads showing different loaf volumes

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

Peter Johnson, shown here in 2009, urges farmers to check their bins given the recent rise in outdoor temperatures. (Ralph Pearce photo)

Temperatures climbing? Check the grain bins

Reading Time: 2 minutes As much as warmer weather may have growers in Ontario thinking of spring planting, a provincial ag specialist warns farmers to consider the old crop ahead of any plans for the new crop. Temperatures are moderating and in southern Ontario, they’ve risen well above freezing for the first time in nearly two months. That’s prompted […] Read more


grain grading

Quality issues with some wheat crops, but it’s not all bad

With 2014 in the bin, there may be pricing opportunities as the trade turns to blending to hit grade specs

Reading Time: 5 minutes Just over a year ago, Bruce Burnett, the Canadian Wheat Board’s head of weather and crop research, stood in front of the 2014 Cereals North America conference and spun the unlikely tale of a late harvest that delivered a large and high-quality crop. Rolling the clock forward to this fall, Burnett again took the podium, […] Read more