Grain companies including the government-owned Canadian Wheat Board had new contracts and pricing options for Prairie wheat, barley and durum on display here at a recent farmer meeting as the open market approaches Aug. 1. So far, the new CWB will be the only company continuing to offer pooling options. Official told farmers it’s aiming […] Read more
CWB fleshes out wheat pricing options
Feds move again on “modernizing” Grain Commission
Regulatory makeovers for the Canadian Grain Commission are on the federal government’s radar, again. Last month the commission announced its latest proposals for "modernizing" itself and the Canada Grain Act it administers. The public has until March 23 to respond. The commission, established in 1912, is Canada’s grain industry watchdog, ensuring the quality of grain […] Read more
Saskatoon wooing grain export development agency
Fears that scrapping the monopoly-powered Canadian Wheat Board could undermine Winnipeg’s dominance of grain-sector office space have been bolstered, with news Saskatoon wants the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) to move there. The offer came Nov. 29 during a meeting with Saskatoon economic development group representatives, Rex Newkirk, Cigi’s director of research and business development, […] Read more
U.S. wheat wants access to Canadian elevators
Canada is considering changes to its wheat quality control system making it easier for American farmers to ship wheat north of the border after the Canadian Wheat Board loses its monopoly Aug. 1. "We are working on an initiative that will see the grading systems more in parallel," Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told reporters Feb. […] Read more
CWB ready to compete, expecting to be profitable
The Canadian Wheat Board will succeed in an open market, its CEO Ian White predicts. "I’ve got no doubt we can run a viable business," White said in an interview in his office last week. "We hope it will be profitable in its first year. That’s what we’re targeting." The board always said the single […] Read more
Ritz to press CWB for interim no-cost buybacks
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has pledged to push the Canadian Wheat Board to allow no-cost buybacks for farmers who’d like to market grain ahead of the official end of the single desk. Ritz told the recent annual meeting of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association in Moose Haw that he would push for such […] Read more
Ex-CWB directors seek to shut down feds’ appeal
The legal battle over the Canadian Wheat Board has taken another twist: its eight fired directors are now looking to quash Ottawa’s appeal of a declaration that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz erred in deregulating the CWB’s marketing desk. Ritz introduced Bill C-18, the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, on Oct. 18. C-18 received royal […] Read more
Conference explores life after the CWB monopoly
In a post-monopoly world, the Canadian Wheat Board will disappear altogether, or it will become the "eBay" for grain exports by bypassing the grain-handling system with container shipments. Or it will become something in between. It all depends on who was talking at the recent two-day conference here organized by the universities of Saskatchewan, Regina, […] Read more
Frozen wheat lawsuit goes against CWB
The Manitoba Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling finding the Canadian Wheat Board liable for negligent misrepresentation in a 1983 wheat sale and must pay $4.6 million in damages, plus costs. The Dec. 14 ruling by Chief Justice Richard J. Scott stems from a trial held in 2009. Wheat board spokeswoman Maureen […] Read more
CWB fusarium programs to disappear
Farmers plagued with fusarium head blight are likely to see deeper discounts in the wake of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly, the board’s agronomist Mike Grenier says. “I think you’ll see deep discounts pretty quickly on an individual year,” Grenier said during the recent 7th Canadian Workshop on Fusarium Head Blight. “I guess you just […] Read more
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