Newsroom
The Bulletin
March 23, 2009
At a glance
- The CWB is promoting the goodness of Prairie wheat to Canadian consumers through the new spring issue of a nationally distributed “Simply Homemade” recipe booklet, created by the partners of Robin Hood flour. The CWB and Robin Hood are engaged in a nation-wide co-branding initiative to help increase flour consumption and raise awareness of the goodness of wheat grown by western Canadian farmers. About 1.5 million copies of the booklet will be available in grocery stores across Canada. The CWB-sponsored recipe, for kid-friendly “Flower Blossom Cookies”, appears on its cover.
- The CWB’s new colouring book for children, Agricolour, will be available to consumers who mail in a coupon from the spring “Simply Homemade” recipe booklet. Agricolour contains drawings based on CWB crop-year calendar photos, taken by Prairie farmers. It’s a fun way to learn about farming in Western Canada.
- The CWB will release its monthly Pool Return Outlooks (PROs) for the current 2008-09 crop year and for the upcoming 2009-10 crop year on Thursday, Mar. 26, after 1:30 p.m.
- The CWB’s farmer-controlled board of directors will hold a regularly scheduled meeting in Winnipeg on Mar. 25 and 26.
- Farmers are encouraged to deliver Nos. 1 and 2 Canada Western Red Spring wheat and No. 1 Canada Western Amber Durum throughout the spring season. A high volume of sales have been made that have pushed our March, April and May export program significantly above average levels. Continual deliveries of your accepted high-quality CWRS and CWAD are needed to fulfil these commitments.
- Due to spring flooding potential, producers in Manitoba can apply for a special permit to continue to transport grain while spring road bans are in effect, the provincial government announced last week. The road restrictions have also been postponed until today (Mar. 23) for Zone 1 and until Mar. 25 for Zone 2. For more information, go to www.gov.mb.ca/roadinfo or call 1-877-MBRoads.
- 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 .
Pot-pourri
- Farmers are invited to sign up for a new one-day workshop from the CWB, being offered soon in Grand Prairie, Fort Saskatchewan and North Battleford. A session in Brandon is being held today. 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/.
- Farmers can stay in contact with the CWB by fax, phone or e-mail. The CWB's primary business fax number is (204) 983-8031. The toll-free phone number is 1-800-275-4292 or e-mail questions@cwb.ca.
From elevator to port
- During Week 34, there were 26 bids submitted under the tendering process. The CWB awarded 13 contracts to four grain companies for the movement of 400 cars of wheat to Prince Rupert, 336 cars of wheat to Thunder Bay and 168 cars of wheat to Vancouver.
- Rail car unload figure for all grains for Week 34 were 3,550 at Vancouver, compared to 3,776 the previous week and 1,696 at Prince Rupert, compared to 1,223 the previous week.
- Primary elevator space for the week ending Mar. 21 was 24 per cent. By province: Manitoba – 21 per cent, Saskatchewan – 23 per cent and Alberta/BC – 28 per cent.
