Don’t blame the trains
(May 8, 2018) Prairie grain farmers live and die by the prices and delivery opportunities for their grain. On both counts farmers have a strong sense of being short changed. When the price looks good and the basis is low, the elevator is often plugged. When the basis is high making the offered price lower, the elevator has space for deliveries. This smells like the bad old days when...
Read MoreGM Wheat Leak
(October 4, 2014) This September the US Department of Agriculture announced it had found unapproved genetically modified (GM) wheat growing in Montana. This new discovery follows a similar discovery in Oregon in 2013 which disrupted US wheat export shipments for a time. These US cases raise red flags for Canadian farmers because the discovery of the glyphosate (trade named “Roundup”) tolerant...
Read MoreRobbie 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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