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Author Archives Allan Dawson

Charred remnants of a rail bridge destroyed by a wildfire on June 30 are seen during a media tour by authorities in Lytton, B.C. on July 9, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)
Crops, Reuters, Weather

Lytton bridge re-opened but grain movement ‘hit and miss’

B.C. wildfires continue to disrupt Prairie grain movement

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Canadian National Railway’s fire-damaged bridge at Lytton, B.C. reopened for traffic Tuesday — but all train movement, including for grain, through British Columbia’s wildfire-ravaged southern Interior, is “hit and miss” and will remain so until the fire risk lessens. “Both (CN and Canadian Pacific Railway) are having troubles because there are so many fires in […] Read more
Flush farmers have a reputation for reinvesting in their operations, which has a positive impact on the economy. (Luca Piccini Basile/iStock/Getty Images)
General, Machinery, Markets

StatsCan shows 2020 farm income up significantly

Farm cash receipts were up more than expenses

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Canadian farm income, no matter how it’s measured, was up a lot in 2020, data released Wednesday by Statistics Canada show. Canadian net farm income of $18.1 billion is up $4.8 billion from 2019 — a 36.5 per cent increase. Another measure — realized net farm income (RNFI) — saw farmers take in $9.9 billion, […] Read more
A grain train pulls up alongside a cargo vessel at the Alliance Grain Terminal at Vancouver on Oct. 6, 2011. (File photo: Reuters/Ben Nelms)
Crops

Grain commission proposes big inspection fee cut

Effective Aug. 1 the cost of outward inspection would be cut by 29 per cent

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The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), whose role in Canadian grain quality assurance is under federal review, wants to cut its fees for four official grain inspection and official grain weighing services effective Aug. 1, the start of the new crop year. The change will save Canada’s grain sector millions of dollars over the next three […] Read more
Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry via YouTube)
Crops, Pulses

W.A. Grain enters receivership

Farmers owed money for grain delivered to this company should contact the Canadian Grain Commission

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Alberta-based grain and pulse handler and processor W.A. Grain + Pulse Solutions went into receivership April 26. Farmers who delivered grain to its faculties in Alberta and Saskatchewan but haven’t been paid should contact the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). “We have not commenced a claims process yet,” CGC spokesman Remi Gosselin said in an interview […] Read more
Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry via YouTube)
Crops, Pulses

CGC suspends W.A. Grain’s licences to month-end

The firm, with facilities in Saskatchewan and Alberta, can't buy or sell grain in the interim

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Licences for Prairie grain and pulse handler W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions and its primary elevators in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been suspended by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The suspensions took effect at 12:01 p.m. Tuesday, a CGC official said in an interview. “This means for a limited period of time (until April 30) […] Read more
The Canadian Grain Commission building on Main Street in Winnipeg. (File photo)
Crops

Virtual town hall on federal Grain Act set for Friday

Time is running out on consultations, but the April 23 event gives farmers a chance to provide input

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The deadline for submitting comments to the federal government’s review of the Canada Grain Act and Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is April 30, but farmers can also offer feedback at a ‘virtual’ town hall meeting this Friday. The Grain Act and its regulations provide the framework for Canada’s grain quality assurance system and it’s the […] Read more
Winnipeg South Centre MP Jim Carr speaks to the Canadian Crops Virtual Convention on March 2, 2021. (CCVC video screengrab)
Crops, Machinery, Weather

Carbon tax rebate on grain drying fuels coming

Jim Carr reiterates Bibeau's pledge from last week

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Farmers can expect a rebate on carbon taxes paid on fuels used to dry grain, Jim Carr, the federal cabinet’s special representative for the Prairies, told the Canadian Crops Virtual Convention on Tuesday. However, he didn’t provide any details. “There is promising news on this front,” Carr told the meeting, hosted by the Canola Council […] Read more
(Jack Dykinga photo courtesy ARS/USDA)
Crops

Prairie farm slapped with plant breeders’ rights infringement penalties

Farmers need to know who they are buying seed from to avoid potentially significant costs

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Infringing on Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) has cost a large southern Alberta farm a record $737,597. “The settlement relates to unauthorized advertisements and sales of PBR-protected barley and wheat varieties,” Alliance Seed, SeCan and an unnamed seed company said in a news release Wednesday. The settlement “includes the royalties, plus legal fees and penalties,” Todd […] Read more
(Canest-transit.ca)
Crops, Markets, Pulses

Push on to prevent strike at Port of Montreal

A work stoppage that could start March 20 would disrupt containerized grain exports

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Ottawa needs to act now to prevent a strike March 20 that would stop containerized grain from being exported from the Port of Montreal, says Jeff English, vice-president of marketing and communications at Pulse Canada. “This is something we can see off in the distance, but we are going to be there before you know […] Read more
A container terminal at the Port of Vancouver. (FangXiaNuo/E+/Canada)
Crops

Grain handler group seeks Vancouver port governance overhaul

The WGEA, whose members ship most of Western Canada's grain, complain the port is in a conflict of interest as both developer and regulator

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Vancouver, Canada’s biggest port and the most important to Western Canada’s economy, needs major changes in how it operates, the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) says. As a statutory monopoly the port authority is both a port developer and regulator putting it in a conflict of interest, according to WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. “We […] Read more

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