THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017
VOL. 95 | NO. 4 | $4.25
HARVEST = SEED SHORTAGE | BAD FEWER GOOD SEEDS P21
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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PULSE INDUSTRY
Pea plant excites sector
CONSUMER OPINIONS
Wheat gets an image makeover
$400 million facility proposed for Manitoba BY ROBERT ARNASON
Will new efforts to emphasize wheat’s nutritional benefits turn around sluggish consumer demand?
W
heat has become a supporting actor on the Prairies, playing second fiddle to the star of the show, canola. The crop’s status dimmed because demand growth for the staple has faded. Global oilseed demand soars because vegetable oil goes into almost all processed food and meal feeds the globe’s fast growing livestock herds, while corn rides the biofuel wave.
A French company may have transformed Canada’s pulse industry. Roquette, a family firm, announced last week that it will build a $400 million pea processing plant in Portage la Prairie, Man. A company news release said the new plant would be “the largest dedicated to pea protein processing in the world.” Corey Loessin, chair of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said the plant will benefit pulse producers across the Prairies. “Expanding processing capacity (for) the western Canadian industry is good for everybody, is our view,” he said. “The market for protein is rising, and it seems like a good opportunity for a company to come in and do more processing on the Prairies.”
However, wheat struggles along, limited mostly to bread, bakery and pasta demand tied to population growth. Researchers think the best hope for expanded wheat consumption isn’t in the factory or gas tank, but right where it has always been — on the dinner plate. What’s needed is a rebranding, or re-emphasis, on the grain’s healthful qualities, and perhaps plant breeding to make it a super food. SEE REBRANDING WHEAT, PAGE 4
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SEE PEA PLANT, PAGE 5
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