Excessive moisture in Manitoba from the Victoria Day long weekend might result in more crop insurance claims than frost. “From our perspective the amount of rain and snow that came with this storm is probably as big a concern as the frost itself,” David Van Deynze, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.’s manager of claim services, said […] Read more

Dawson: Moisture may trigger more Man. crop claims than frost

Dawson: Time to assess crops for frost, water damage
Each day it gets easier to assess how much damage frost and excessive moisture did to Manitoba crops over the Victoria Day long weekend. Farmers can expect their soybeans to emerge this week because of warm and sunny conditions — and that germination will probably suffer in some soybean fields. “I’m expecting to see a […] Read more

Ritz’s Agricultural Growth Act now law
Banff — There was applause here when plant breeders, seed companies and farmers at the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale heard the Agricultural Growth Act, with its stronger intellectual property rights, was about to receive royal assent. Immediately after the bill received royal assent Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz tabled a treaty […] Read more

CGC producer protection being revamped, may include feed mills
The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is considering adding feed mills to its producer protection program, as part of an overhaul of the program proposed in the federal government’s Bill C-48. C-48, dubbed the Modernization of Canada’s Grain Industry Act, got its first reading Tuesday in the House of Commons. Adding feed mills to the mix […] Read more

Canadian Forage and Grassland Association short of funds, and a manager
The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) set up five years ago to help Canada’s struggling forage and grassland industry is struggling itself, but vows to carry on despite a shortage of funds and the resignation of its executive director, Ron Pidskalny. “Nobody is saying we’re going to have to shut it down,” CFGA chair […] Read more

CWB says it’s not for sale
Manitoba Co-operator — CWB isn’t a grain company on the auction block, it’s a company looking for a new partner, who along with farmer-shareholders, will help it grow to serve western Canadian farmers better. “I think there is a misunderstanding about what CWB is trying to do,” Dayna Spiring, CWB’s chief strategy officer said in […] Read more

Have you got green standing canola in mid-September?
Consider swathing canola now — or at least a few days before the next expected killing frost, according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s oilseed specialist Anastasia Kubinec. And if standing canola is frozen, be prepared to swath it as soon as possible, she said in an interview Monday. Swathing too soon can reduce […] Read more

New biocontrol to fight fusarium in cereals
Using fire to fight fire, a new biocontrol product could be commercialized for use against fusarium head blight in a year or two. Adjuvants Plus at Kingsville, Ont. has reached a licensing agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to use its patented technology — a fungal organism called Clonostachys rosea, strain ACM941 — to […] Read more

Churchill open, hopes for record exports
The first ship of what’s hoped to be a record-breaking year was loading wheat at Manitoba’s Port of Churchill starting Tuesday. The M.V. Ikan Suji began taking on 32,500 tonnes of No. 2 Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat sold by Richardson International and destined for Mexico. Merv Tweed, president of OmniTrax Canada, which owns […] Read more
Grain commission bonding replacement plan stalls
After a year of negotiations to develop an insurance-based producer payment protection plan, the Canadian Grain Commission has called it quits, surprising and disappointing some farm groups. The CGC has been attempting to replace the current bonding system to protect farmers against payment defaults for grain delivered to merchandisers. It had been negotiating with with […] Read more