An announcement regarding the future of seed royalties on Tuesday in Winnipeg could be a turning point in a more-than-a-decade long discussion about the return-on-investment for seed companies and plant breeders in Canada. At FarmTech in Edmonton earlier this winter, both Todd Hyra, of SeCan, and Laurin Comin, of the Alberta Wheat Commission, presented on… Read More
To many, change among committees, boards of directors, and organizations is a good thing as it provides new insight and ideas to grow the organization. Change can also be tough to some as people can feel as though they’re “starting all over again” with a new person added or some feel as though they won’t… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) is pledging more than $9.6 million over the next five years to a core breeding agreement (CBA) with the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Crop Development Centre (CDC). The funding will go towards the development of spring wheat cultivars and provide expanded “core” support for the CDC’s wheat breeding programs,… Read More
Have you ever wondered how countries that buy Canadian wheat learn about each crop-year’s characteristics? The story of each crop begins with the harvest sample program, involves a careful analysis of the crop, and continues with crop missions to countries such as Singapore, Ecuador, China, and Mexico. Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada, and Gary Stanford,… Read More
If you’re a farmer on the prairies, there’s a good chance falling number at the elevator was brought up at least once over harvest. With that in mind, this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School is focused on better understanding falling number and what — if anything — you can do when it comes to variety… Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) has announced the results for director nominations. For region 1, Jason Saunders of Taber, Alta., was acclaimed, where he will be entering his second, three-year term on AWC’s board. Greg Sears of Sexsmith, Alta., and David Barlett of Fairview, Alta., were also acclaimed, with both of them being new AWC… Read More
Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr has put out a statement in regards to the government’s talks with China over blocked canola exports. Earlier this year, China revoked the export license of a major Canadian canola company citing various pests were found in the product. Later, a second company was hit with the same… Read More
Alberta Wheat Commission, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association have invested $1.9 million to further research that will, “accelerate the future development of higher yielding, stress resistant wheat varieties for Canadian farmers.” This money is part of the $11.2 million investment made by Genome Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) used to be a big player in the field of offering government-backed cash advances. The changes to the CWB’s structure and its transition to a private company created an administrative vacuum which 30 or so other groups that currently offer the cash advance have been working to fill. Recently, another… Read More
There is constant talk about farmer-led commodity groups joining together to increase efficiencies. The farm groups in Manitoba are working on it, the Grain Farmers of Ontario have done something about it, and now so have the commissions for Alberta Barley (ABC) and Alberta Wheat (AWC). Alberta Barley has been hosting the Barley Summit in… Read More
In a quest to create more export opportunities to Asia for Alberta oil, the Alberta government is asking the federal government to get involved, suggesting the feds invest in oil tanker cars and locomotives. It’s estimated the Canadian economy is losing $40 million per day due to heavily discounted product entering the United States. But… Read More
Recently, there were two big funding announcements with major implications for Canadian wheat growers. Both had significant funding support from SaskWheat and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC). Saskatchewan field editor Dale Leftwich sat down with Harvey Brooks, executive director for SaskWheat, to talk about the importance of research to farmer led commodity groups. Brooks spoke… Read More
There’s new competition coming in the area of farm cash advance administration in Alberta. The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) has announced it will be launching its own program called “FarmCash” to administer advances for Alberta farmers and ranchers through the federal government’s Advance Payments Program. Starting September 1, 2018, FarmCash will offer interest-free and low… Read More
The Japanese government has ended its temporary suspension of Canadian wheat imports, just over a month after pausing purchases from Canada following the confirmation of a handful of unapproved genetically-modified wheat plants found growing in southern Alberta in 2017. The country’s ministry of agriculture issued tenders for 62,957 tonnes of food-quality wheat from Canada on… Read More
Four Alberta crop commissions that collaborate under the “Team Alberta” banner are speaking out against the University of Alberta’s decision to grant an honourary degree to David Suzuki. The chairs of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, Alberta Wheat Commission, Alberta Pulse Growers, and Alberta Barley sent an open letter to U of A president Dr…. Read More