Seven points about western grain

At times the whole Wheat Board, grain marketing issue can appear dauntingly complex.  So here is a quick summary: Since the invention of the telegraph, the international grain market has been controlled by five giant companies. Aside from Canada there are really only three countries producing reliable bulk supplies of grain for international sale:  The United States, Argentina, and...

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UPOV 91 – gold for seed companies

– Eric Sagan, Melville, Sask. I have just received my 2014 Saskatchewan Seed Guide. I have counted approximately 70 different wheat varieties and approximately 24 different barley varieties which are mostly Plant Breeders Rights protected which really means farmers have to pay more There is also a so called “new” farm organization calling itself “Partners in Innovations.”  Upon...

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Robbie Burns Day

(January 25, 2014) January 25 celebrates the birth of the great Scottish poet Robert Burns and all things Scottish.  Since people of Scottish origin played such a large role in Canada’s history it is no surprise they played an important role in the development of grain and grain marketing in Canada. Wheat growing in North America was made possible by the work of Sir Charles Saunders,...

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Farmers support public plant breeding

(December 18, 2013) Anyone who supports farm-saved seed and public plant breeding should be pleased by the results of the elections for the Saskatchewan Wheat and Barley Commissions.  These commissions will allocate millions of dollars of farmers’ money into wheat and barley research now that the Federal Government has trashed most of its facilities and fired the scientists who did the...

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Menzies joins Ottawa lobby group

Following tradition Ted Menzies, the recently resigned MP for the southern Alberta riding of MacLeod is staying in Ottawa to lobby government on behalf of genetically modified crops and agro-chemical manufactures as the new President of industry funded lobby group CropLife Canada.  With the recent approval of genetically modified alfalfa, and the approvals of genetically modified wheat, salmon,...

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