Alberta farmer express

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OTTAWA GETS PRAISE FOR RESEARCH PLEDGE

HARMONY BEEF IS FINALLY READY TO LAUNCH Alberta plant aims to be the gold standard in North America » PG 3

Continuing public research is the smart thing to do, say farmers » PG 3 Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240

V o l u m e 1 4 , n u m b e r 3    j a n u a r y 3 0 , 2 0 1 7

A decade on, BSE lawsuit may finally go to trial $8-billion class-action suit says Ottawa should have done more

They’re crushing it! And that’s a good thing

Canola crushers are enjoying hefty margins, but that’s actually good news for farmers — especially given the poor-quality crop

BY ALEXIS KIENLEN AF STAFF

I

t’s been more than a decade since it started, but a classaction suit against the federal government for damages incurred as a result of BSE could be going to trial by the end of the year. “We had the first round of discoveries for 2015 and various questions arose from that, that there were outstanding for the government to get back to us,” said

see BSE } page 7

BY JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff

P

oor conditions at harvest have been good for Western Canada’s crushers, which are soaking up canola that would otherwise be hard to market. Weekly canola crush levels hit a record high of just over 200,000 tonnes the first week in January for the second time ever. While crush levels dipped the following week, the total crush as of Jan. 11 was 4.12 million tonnes versus 3.64 million tonnes a year earlier. That’s a sizzling 14.4 per cent jump over the record-setting 8.3-million-tonne crush set just last year (which smashed the old record, set in 2014-15 by nearly a million tonnes). The rate at which crushers are roaring ahead is proof positive of the “strong demand for canola oil around the world,” said Alberta Canola general manager Ward Toma. The poor condition of this year’s crop is also a major factor. “They don’t want to move it into the seed export system because

seE CRUSHING IT } page 6

Exporting poor-quality canola seed overseas is a risky proposition, but fortunately a lot of this year’s crop will be processed on the Prairies.   PHOTO: CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA

grain movement on track } PAGE 22

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