The western producer march 3, 2016

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THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2016

VOL. 94 | NO. 9 | $4.25

SPECIAL REPORT |

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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MUCH ADO ABOUT DRAINAGE

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

CHINESE REGULATIONS

BABY’S FIRST CHECKUP

Dockage rules may threaten canola exports BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM

The biggest market for Canadian canola will be shut down if China follows through on plans to implement new allowable dockage limits starting April 1, says the president of the Canola Council of Canada. China’s quarantine agenc y, AQSIQ, notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Feb. 22 that canola exports from Canada would have to contain less than one percent dockage beginning April 1. That is a dramatic shift from the existing trade rules allowing a maximum of 2.5 percent dockage for commercially clean grain. “It would be virtually impossible to meet those kinds of specifications consistently,” said Patti Miller, president of the Canola Council of Canada. “Number one, I’m not sure it’s physically possible. Number two, it would slow down the system so much it would make things extremely expensive.” Derek Squair, president of AgriTrend Marketing, has a different

Kristine Longson fastens an ear tag to a new calf as its anxious mother looks on while her daughter, Emma, watches from the truck. By Feb. 21, more than 30 of 55 heifers had calved at the Lonson Ranch near High River, Alta., while 250 cows were just getting started. | MIKE STURK PHOTO

SEE CANOLA EXPORTS, PAGE 5

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TRANSPORTATION

Report tabled in Parliament contains recommendations to improve western rail service BY BRIAN CROSS SASKATOON NEWSROOM

Eventual elimination of the railway revenue cap is one of the recommendations in a much-anticipated review of the Canadian Transportation Act. However, it remains to be seen whether Ottawa will act on any of the 286-page Emerson Report’s

key recommendations. It was tabled in Parliament Feb. 25. The report contains several recommendations aimed at improving rail service for the western Canadian grain sector. Most notably, it suggests that the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE), also known as the railway revenue cap, should be modern-

ized immediately and eliminated within seven years in an effort to ensure a more “commercially grounded” railway transportation system. The report, entitled Pathways: Connecting Canada’s Transportation System to the World, is the product of an 18-month review of the Canada Transportation Ac t l e d by f o r m e r M P D av i d

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Emerson. Other key recommendations pertaining to the western Canadian grain sector include: • expanded protections for producer car shippers that would give them the same treatment as other shippers under the Canada Transportation Act SEE CTA REVIEW, PAGE 4

+10%

YIELD OVER LATE APPLICATION OF GROUP 2 HERBICIDES

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C-78-02/16-10508448-E

u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv!:^ MARCH 3, 2016 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240

CTA review may axe revenue cap


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