The western producer april 7, 2016

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THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

VOL. 94 | NO. 14 | $4.25

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

CAN YOU TELL WHICH IS BEST? WIND VS. SOLAR | HOW P30

EARLY START TO SPRING

Always early to the fields in spring, Greg Monteith seeds a wheat field south of High River, Alta., March 29. |

MIKE STURK PHOTO

SASKATCHEWAN PROVINCIAL ELECTION COVERAGE IS ONLINE AND ON PAGE 3

WEATHER

TRANSPORTATION

Mild winter = early spring?

Grain system posts strong year for deliveries u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv,:%

SASKATOON NEWSROOM

The planting season will likely start early across most of Western Canada this year, thanks to an early spring melt and an extremely mild winter that delivered average or below average snowfall to most of the Prairies. Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist with Agriculture Canada, said soil moisture levels will be reasonably good across most of Western Canada, despite a “significant departure” from normal snowfall amounts this winter. “We didn’t receive nearly as much snow as we normally would, especially in the southern regions of the Prairies, right through Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Hadwen said. “You can take a line from about Red Deer, straight across to Winnipeg and anything under that line, received below normal precipitation.” SEE EARLY SPRING, PAGE 4

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After years of complaints about delays, most people are happy with the grain marketing system this year with booming deliveries GRAIN MOVEMENT ON THE PRAIRIES

BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU

Apparently, no news is good news in the grain business. An odd silence exists around the prairie grain marketing and handling system this year, but after several years that saw complaints about delays and poor service, nobody is complaining. Farmer deliveries are up more than 20 percent at this point of the year compared to 2012-13 and exports are up more than 30 percent. “It’s been fantastic for the farmer,” said Gerrid Gust, who farms near Davidson, Sask., and is active in farm organizations. “It’s been great.” SEE GRAIN DELIVERIES, PAGE 5

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Amounts as of week 34 of the crop year, ending the last Sunday of March (all in million tonnes): PRODUCER DELIVERIES 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

canola 11.252 10.071 9.809 10.647 12.030

wheat 11.528 11.639. 12.880 12.935 13.007

all grains 30.727* 30.283* 32.029** 34.018** 37.018**

EXPORTS 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

canola 6.274 5.166 5.104 5.335 6.453

wheat 8.804 8.730 9.943 10.620 10.594

all grains 20.419* 20.184* 23.395** 26.076** 27.636**

* includes wheat, durum, oats, barley, flax canola, peas, corn, rye ** includes the above plus soybeans, canary seed, mustard, beans, lentils and chickpeas Source Canadian Grain Commission | WP GRAPHIC

APRIL 7, 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

BY BRIAN CROSS


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