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 »
Tag: Cam Dahl
Sask Wheat decides to join Cereals Canada
The board of directors for the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission has voted in favour of joining Cereals Canada. A resolution to join the national cereal crop industry association was passed at the group’s annual general meeting in January. The resolution was on the agenda for a Sask Wheat board meeting on Wednesday. “Sask Wheat is… Read more »
Unapproved GM wheat plants discovered in Alberta
Update, June 29: The CFIA has published its incident report on the discovery of unapproved GM wheat plants in southern Alberta. The agency says it determined it was an isolated case, with no wheat entering the food or feed system, but that it was unable to determine where it came from: “The CFIA in cooperation with… Read more »
Working group formed to explore Cigi-Cereals Canada “integration”
The boards of directors for Cereals Canada and the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) have agreed to explore a possible “integration” of the two grain industry organizations. A working group, made up of directors from both boards, has been formed to examine how the two entities could work more closely together. The mandate of this… Read more »
Transport minister accepts Senate’s grain-related amendments to Bill C-49
The scoop: Transport Minister Marc Garneau has decided to accept the Senate’s main grain-related amendments to Bill C-49 — the government’s long-awaited transportation legislation. Farm groups are applauding the minister’s decision, while urging MPs and Senators to agree on the amendments and to pass the bill before the summer break. The story: Farm groups are… Read more »
Action needed to reopen Italy to Canadian durum: Cereals Canada
With the ink still drying on a trade agreement that was supposed to reduce barriers to trade, a protectionist measure has shut out one of Canada’s largest single product exports to Europe. Durum wheat shipments from Canada to Italy have been halted since October, shortly after the Italian government announced it was moving ahead with… Read more »
Farm groups asking Ottawa to intervene in looming rail strike
Prairie grain farmers are urging the federal government to take action to prevent workers with CP Rail from going on strike as early as this weekend. A strike now would only add to the problems with grain movement this crop year. Around 3,000 conductors and engineers who are members in the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, as… Read more »
Market access “probably the biggest issue” facing the grains industry
While much of the focus over the past several months has been on the pulse industry, with India’s tariffs on pulse crops, Canada’s cereal crop value chain has also had its hands full working on market access challenges. Italy, with its new country-of-origin labeling legislation and campaigns spreading doubt about the quality and safety of… Read more »
Wheat School: The threat of ochratoxin A
Canada has a stellar grain safety record and reputation, but the president of Cereals Canada believes there needs to be more awareness of one specific mycotoxin that can show up after the crop is in the bin: ochratoxin A, or OTA. OTA is a potent toxin produced by fungus in storage. It’s considered to be… Read more »
Real science corrects mistakes. Time for IARC to do the same.
A guest editorial submitted by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada: I likely can’t count the number of times I have spoken or written the words “science-based”. It is a mantra of sorts. And for good reason. Technology is the most important competitive advantage for Canadian agriculture. This is how we are going to compete with… Read more »
Progress made on agriculture text in 3rd round of NAFTA talks
Negotiators have made some progress on agriculture-related topics during the third round of NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa this week. A full day of discussions on agriculture took place on Tuesday, with more planned for Wednesday. The U.S. introduced a “consolidated text” for agriculture, compiled from the three countries’ individual submissions, according to a source who… Read more »
Celebrating CETA while obstacles remain
The provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) officially started this week, which had the Canadian trade team in Brussels actually jumping for joy. But the work is far from over, as technical barriers are holding the agriculture and agri-food industry back from reaching their full… Read more »
National priorities laid out for Canadian wheat research
Canada’s wheat industry, working together with the federal government, laid out its priorities for research in a national report unveiled at press conference in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 2017 Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report is being described as the first time the wheat industry has come… Read more »
Conversations taking place on potential Cigi and Cereals Canada amalgamation
The end of the Canadian Wheat Board as a single desk marketer of Canadian wheat and barley five years ago triggered a number of major changes in Canada’s cereal crop industry. Most of the dust stirred up by dismantling the CWB has settled, but there’s potential for more change. Recognizing gaps left by the end… Read more »
Canada considering options to challenge Italian COOL on pasta
Italy’s move to unilaterally impose country of origin labeling (COOL) rules for all packages of pasta sold in the country came as a surprise last week, leaving the Canadian government and durum supply chain exploring options for how they can challenge the measure that threatens Canadian durum wheat exports. Rather than waiting for the European… Read more »