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Farmer input via surveys top the list for this week’s “In the Field”

Mar 10, 2017 | 2:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  Farmers have been inundated with requests to fill out surveys this week.

First it was input for farm worker regulations, then info for a water quality study.

Now, the National Farmers Union wants to find out if grain producers are being treated properly when they deliver crops to inland terminals.

The farm organization says in a statement that it’s hearing repeated stories about producers being offered good grades for grain quality if they deliver to a terminal, which are then switched to lower grades when they arrive.

N-F-U president Jan Slomp says they’ve launched an online survey to determine the extent of the problem, in light of a reduced regulatory role by the Canadian Grain Commission.

The organization says the survey is open to all Canadian grain farmers and submissions will be kept confidential.   

Cattle Numbers:

 In other agriculture news, there was only a marginal increase in the total number of cattle on Canadian farms at the beginning of the year.

Statistics Canada reports 12,065,000 head as of January 1st, 2017, up only 30,000 head from the previous year.

The national number of beef cows rose by a slim 0.2 per cent, but it was a different story in Saskatchewan.

Beef cow numbers in the province rose 2.4 per cent to 1,158,000 head. One of the reasons was that fewer cattle went to Alberta for finishing due to ample amounts of less expensive, lower quality feed grain from the Saskatchewan harvest.

Canola Exports:

The Canola Council of Canada says a free trade agreement with China would reduce tariffs and generate more exports.

A study commissioned by the Council says a reduction in the nine per cent tariff on canola seed would increase total sales of seed, oil and meal by up to 1.2 billion dollars per year.

The study, done by the former deputy chief economist with the federal trade department, says that would be the equivalent of 1.8 million tonnes of canola, or about one-tenth of current annual production.

The report indicates the current Chinese tariff on imported canola seed is three times higher than those applied to soybeans. This made canola 32 dollars per tonne more expensive than it would be if it had the same tariff as soybeans

 Wheat-Exports:

Crop analyst Marlene Boersch says Canada is starting to lose ground in global wheat markets.

She is calling for the Canadian wheat sector to develop a strategy to bring sales back on track.

Exports of Canadian wheat to date this year are down 20 per cent compared to the same period last year, while competing countries like the United States and Russia are cashing in on a greater share of the wheat market.

A glut of lower quality wheat in the system, partly because of disease issues in the crop, is bearing the brunt of the blame, but the marketing of other crops is also affecting sales.