Newsroom
The Bulletin
March 16, 2009
At a glance
- Wheat is moving from western Canadian farms to ports at record-high rates this winter. For each month since October, total CWB exports have exceeded the 10-year average. Exports from Vancouver and Prince Rupert during February were the highest in nine years at just over a million tonnes, well above the 10-year average of 778 000 tonnes. The CWB’s winter rail program to eastern ports is also on track to be the largest in a decade. The CWB has so far accepted 94 per cent of the large wheat crop that Prairie farmers have offered.
- The CWB is proud to promote Prairie farmers’ wheat and barley during “Discover Agriculture in the City” at Winnipeg’s Forks Market, Mar. 20-22. The event, coordinated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is designed to raise awareness among urban consumers of the important role that agriculture plays in their lives. For more information, visit www.agr.gc.ca/aginthecity
- Farmers are invited to sign up for one of six new one-day workshops from the CWB, being offered soon in Brandon, Humboldt, Yorkton, Grand Prairie, Fort Saskatchewan and North Battleford. The workshops, called “CWB at Your Door”, bring global marketing expertise to farmers’ doorstep. Topics include marketing resources, localized agronomy issues, market outlooks and more. Pre-registration is required. The cost is $50, lunch included. For more information, see http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/newsroom/events/atyourdoor/.
- The 2009-10 Advance Payments Program (pre-harvest) begins Apr. 1, with the following rates per tonne in place: wheat - $110; durum - $120; barley - $60. Farmers can receive up to $400,000, with the first $100,000 interest-free. Applicants must have 2009 all-risk provincial crop insurance to be eligible. Agristability can be used as security if crop insurance is not in place. Forms will be available at most grain-handling facilities. For more information call 1-800-275-4292 or see www.cwb.ca.
- Farmers who contributed to wheat and barley check-offs through the Western Grain Research Foundation in 2008 can apply for a federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit. The tax credits are 80 per cent for wheat and 82 per cent for barley in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. For more information visit, http://www.westerngrains.com/index.asp?id=14523&gfx=&ts=0 .
- Mar. 20 is the sign-up deadline for farmers to participate in the CWB’s 2009-10 Wheat Storage Program. Farmers can receive additional payments for No. 1 CWRS with 14.5 per cent protein or higher. The program is designed to reserve some of Western Canada’s best grain for farmers’ valued long-term customers.
- Farmer Forums will be held this week in Sexsmith (Mar. 18) and Westlock (Mar. 19), AB. CWB directors report to farmers at these annual accountability meetings, held across Western Canada. For more information, see http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/newsroom/events/farmforum/ .
Pot-pourri
- The first day of spring is March 20. With spring seeding just around the corner, farmers are invited to try out the CWB’s colourful online variety “trend tool”. With the click of a mouse, variety preferences can be tracked for the past 10 years, by province, crop district or Prairie wide. Check out this innovative tool at http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/farmers/surveys/variety/08-09/.
From elevator to port
- During Week 33, there were seven bids submitted under the tendering process. The CWB awarded five contracts to three grain companies for the movement of 115 cars of wheat to Prince Rupert and 336 cars of wheat to Vancouver.
- Rail car unload figure for all grains for Week 33 were 3,776 at Vancouver, compared to 3,823 the previous week and 1,223 at Prince Rupert, compared to 1,497 the previous week.
- Primary elevator space for the week ending Mar. 14 was 27 per cent. By province: Manitoba – 26 per cent, Saskatchewan – 25 per cent and Alberta/BC – 34 per cent.
