(Frankpeters/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. EPA proposal likes canola oil for renewable fuel

A final EPA decision is expected this summer, which, if favourable, could add new demand for Canada's premier oilseed

Canola has another feather in its cap — one which is expected to put more money in farmers’ pockets. In a ‘proposed decision’ released in April the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized canola oil’s value as an environment-friendly alternative to fossil-based fuel — a move that’s expected to add new demand for the crop. […] Read more

(File photo by Lorraine Stevenson)

Elevator declarations changing Aug. 1

CGC says the move won't harm Canada's grain quality assurance system

The declarations of eligibility western Canadian farmers sign before delivering to elevators, effective Aug. 1, will no longer include crops that don’t require end-use quality assessment as part of the variety registration process. “It’s not a big change,” Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) spokesman Remi Gosselin said in an interview Thursday. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of […] Read more


Then-federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (second from right) announces G3’s plan to take a majority stake in CWB in April 2015 in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Farmers’ CWB class action lawsuit gets certified

Suit claims federal government wrongly used farmers' money to help privatize the Wheat Board

A class action lawsuit alleging the government of Canada and G3 Canada Ltd. unlawfully used millions of farmer dollars to privatize the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) has been certified after wending its way through the courts for 10 years. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Chris Martin delivered his written judgment Tuesday in Winnipeg, clearing the […] Read more

Civilians who bought their own weapons take part in shooting exercises before joining the territorial defence and patrolling Lviv, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Russia’s war to affect farmers, food security

Canadian grain growers can expect profits despite higher input costs, while some people will eat less

Glacier FarmMedia – The outcome of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is unknown, but for Ukrainians it’s already a human tragedy of suffering, death and destruction, but also brave defiance. It’s likely to get worse — not just for Ukrainians and Russians, but for many of us. Why it matters: The Russian invasion of Ukraine […] 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)

W.A. Grain’s farmer suppliers to get 80 cents on dollar

CGC program to provide $5.6 million of $7.1 million owed

Farmers owed $7.1 million by W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions, which had facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan, will get $5.6 million, or about 80 per cent of the money owed to them, via the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) Safeguards for Grain Farmers Program. “While we regret producers didn’t get 100 per cent (of what they […] Read more


Crews work as Canadian Pacific Railway tracks are suspended above the washed-out Tank Hill underpass of the Trans-Canada Highway after devastating rain storms caused flooding and landslides, northeast of Lytton, B.C. on Nov. 20, 2021. (Photo: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure handout via Reuters)

Grain movement to Vancouver picking up

Railways seen recovering from B.C. damages faster than many had expected

Western grain movement to the Port of Vancouver was at 60 per cent of normal as of Dec. 15 and is expected to continually improve, Mark Hemmes, Canada’s grain monitor and president of Quorum Corp. said in an interview Wednesday. “I think by next week it’s going to look a lot better,” he said. “Is […] Read more

A renewed commitment to the World Trade Organization, mainly by the U.S., is necessary to reinvigorate global agriculture trade, says a former trade negotiator.

U.S. leadership needed to push freer agriculture trade

Trade negotiation insiders say bilateralism won’t go away, but rules enforcement needed

Glacier FarmMedia – Huge gains in freeing up global agricultural trade in the 1990s and early 2000s came about through American leadership — and it’s needed again. So says Mike Gifford, Canada’s former chief agricultural trade negotiator who retired from that role in 2000. Why it matters: Canadian farmers rely on exports for much of […] Read more

(File photo by Lorraine Stevenson)

Elevators hope mandatory vaccination doesn’t disrupt operations

New regulations will require all federally regulated employees to comply early in 2022

Canada’s major companies hope their operations won’t be disrupted when Ottawa requires federally regulated employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting early in 2022. “It depends on whether employees that aren’t vaccinated will get vaccinated, or would they leave their jobs,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) said in an interview […] Read more


Container companies are choosing to eliminate the backhaul from Canada, which hurts exports, Pulse Canada says.

Ottawa urged to tackle shipping container crisis

Pulse Canada says farmers and the entire Canadian economy are being damaged

The Canadian government must address the container crunch hurting the country’s crop growers and every part of the Canadian economy, says Pulse Canada. “It’s no secret that life is getting more expensive by the day here in Canada, and the lack of containers is playing a big role in driving up the cost of living […] Read more

The Canadian Seed Growers Association is charged with seed quality assurance under the existing regulatory framework.

Seed regulatory review reveals industry split

CSGA and Seeds Canada differences affect government review process, the first in decades

Glacier FarmMedia – Canada is in the midst of a “once-in-a-generation” review of its seed industry regulations.   But the Seed Regulatory Modernization (SRM) process is also revealing fractures within the country’s seed sector. Animosity appears to be lingering over the Seed Synergy process that led to the formation and launch of Seeds Canada in February […] Read more