Mbc131128

Page 1

Adapting to climate change »

The big, little cow debate » Page 13

November 28, 2013

Page 9

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 71,  No. 48

Churchill gets another booster A new agency will promote the port By Allan Dawson co-operator staff

T

he Port of Churchill is getting a boost from the Manitoba government. Legislation to create Churchill Arctic Port Canada Inc., a nongovernment agency, to develop economic opportunities, spur job creation and ensure the viability of Churchill, was introduced in the Manitoba legislature Nov. 21. OmniTRAX Canada, which owns the port and the railway that serves it, supports the move, its president Merv Tweed said in a news release distributed late Friday afternoon. However, earlier in the day the Winnipeg Free Press reported Tweed as saying OmniTRAX was caught flat footed about the announcement. “It just seems odd as the sole owner of the port and the rail (that serves it) that we would not be more intimately involved,” Tweed was quoted as saying. Calls requesting an interview with Tweed were not returned by press time Monday. But Sinc Harrison, president of the Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA), said he was told OmniTRAX was not consulted. “That isn’t fair to OmniTRAX since it is the major player,” Harrison said.

|

manitobacooperator.ca

$1.75

Manitoba farmers get one-time amnesty on Faller ADM is the sole buyer and the program ends July 31, 2014

North Dakota elevators are reportedly paying up to $1 per bushel more than their plugged counterparts in Manitoba. Photo: Andrew Filer/Creative Commons

See PORT on page 6 »

By Allan Dawson co-operator staff

Publication Mail Agreement 40069240

M

anitoba farmers who grew Faller from “brown-bagged” seed have a one-time amnesty allowing them to deliver the unregistered American red spring wheat to three ADM-Benson Quinn-affiliated facilities stateside until July 31, 2014. “This is becoming a bit of a management nightmare for producers so they’ve got an option to clean up,” Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency said in an interview Nov. 21. “This is the time to take it.” ADM will remit a nominal royalty on the Canadian Faller it purchases to the variety’s developer, the North Dakota

State University (NDSU) Research Foundation, said ADM president Scott Nagel from his office in Minneapolis. “So it (Faller) will trade at a nominal discount to other Canadian-originated grain because of the royalty,” he said. “It’s not a huge royalty.” Hadley said it’s the right thing to do because it compensates NDSU for its intellectual property. “We don’t want to get the reputation as Canadians as taking someone else’s genetics and using them for free,” he said. Several industry officials said farmers will likely earn more by delivering Faller to the United States under this program than by selling it at home. As an unregistered variety, Faller must be graded “feed” when deliv-

ered to a Canadian elevator. The only exception would be for Faller grown from certified seed under an identitypreserved (IP) contract in 2013 with Richardson Pioneer or Parrish & Heimbecker. The royalty is included in the purchase of certified seed. Farmers who contracted to grow Faller are being paid prices comparable to those for registered varieties in the Canada Western Red Spring wheat class.

High U.S. premium

Moreover, market experts say prices American elevators right now are paying are 65 cents to $1 a bushel higher than in Manitoba. The gap could be See FALLER on page 6 »

BIOFUEL: WHAT DOES EPA MOVE MEAN FOR CORN? » PAGE 33


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.