THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016
VOL. 94 | NO. 34 | $4.25
If the tap shut off Aging waterworks worry southern Albertans | Page 14
New combine SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
PULSES
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A production model of the Tribine combine makes its debut | Page 33
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CROP SURFING
Jury out on lentil quality Lower quality grades make it difficult to achieve export goals BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
SEE JURY OUT, PAGE 4
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Cousins Grady and Cody Keith surf and wake skate over a low spot in a neighbour’s canola field near Sovereign, Sask., Aug. 16. Too much rain this year has played havoc with crops in many parts of the Prairies. FOR A RELATED STORY, SEE PAGE 3.  |  WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO
GRAIN SHIPPING
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Resolution thought doubtful for dockage dispute BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
A former federal agriculture minister believes the China canola dockage issue won’t be resolved before the Sept. 1 deadline. “I doubt it,� said Gerry Ritz, who served as agriculture minister for eight years under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to agree with him, according to a recent report on China’s oilseed markets.
“(Canola) imports face uncertainty as the Chinese regulatory authorities are likely to enforce stricter inspection rules in September 2016,� stated the USDA. Ritz contends the Liberal government is taking the wrong approach to finding a solution to a problem that threatens $2 billion in annual trade with China. He said Ottawa is focused on finding a scientific rather than a political resolution to the impasse. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is implementing a
new policy Sept. 1 that will require canola shipments to contain less than one percent dockage instead of the current 2.5 percent limit. The Canola Council of Canada says the policy threatens four million tonnes of annual canola seed exports to China, which is 40 percent of Canada’s total export program. Chinese officials say the policy is being implemented to minimize the chance of blackleg disease entering China and attacking the country’s rapeseed crops. SEE DOCKAGE RESOLUTION, PAGE 5
EXPERIENCE
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AUGUST 25, 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
Excess rain has decimated about one-quarter of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lentil crop, but the jury is still out on how much quality damage there is on what remains, say industry officials. Greg Simpson, president of Simpson Seeds, one of Saskatchewanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest lentil processors, said yields are highly variable. He was combining a field of Eston-type lentils on his farm near Moose Jaw last week that averaged 35 bushels per acre. His cousin, who farms 20 kilometres west of him, was hailed out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His (yield) monitor on his machine was zero,â&#x20AC;? said Simpson. An area between Moose Jaw and Buffalo Pound is also a write-off due to hail. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Inside that area the lentil crops are history. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be zero to five (bushels per acre),â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Basically itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a clean-up operation.â&#x20AC;? Simpson has a niece who farms near Kyle, Sask., an area that has received more than 500 millimetres of rain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really concerned for the guys at Kyle, Kindersley and that whole area that has been hit heavily,â&#x20AC;? he said. Simpson was originally forecasting 3.82 million tonnes of Canadian lentil production, but his new estimate is for 2.87 million tonnes, a 25 percent reduction. That is in line with what industry analysts are forecasting. Larry Weber, an analyst with Weber Commodities, came up with an estimate of 2.95 million tonnes in