News
Canadian wheat new crop missions set to begin following challenging harvest
Customers in 17 countries will meet with representatives from Canada’s grain value chain to learn about the quality and end-use characteristics of the 2018 Canadian wheat crop during a series of new crop missions beginning November 12.
November 14, 2018 By Cereals Canada
Between November and December, the 2018 New Crop Missions will travel to 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North and South America. The first seminar takes place in Mississauga, Ont. for Canadian millers and their customers. The annual seminars are an important opportunity to build customer relationships with international buyers and support Canada’s reputation as a supplier of clean, consistent, quality wheat.
“2018 is a tale of two harvests,” says Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada. “The crop quality was very high until unusually early snowfall in some of the western prairie regions created challenging harvest conditions for farmers in those areas.”
Wheat harvested before the snow fell is high quality with 95 per cent falling into the top two grades (No. 1 and No. 2) with high protein. While weathering has degraded the quality of some of the crop harvested in October it is expected that there is good availability of quality wheat.
Buyers will hear from industry experts in terms of overall crop quality and functionality, availability, and a review of the growing season and farming in Canada. The Canadian team includes farmers and exporters, and scientists, technical specialists and representatives from Cereals Canada, Canadian International Grains Institute and Canadian Grain Commission.
“Every crop year is different and that’s why it’s important to be face-to-face with key customers post-harvest each fall,” Dahl says. “It’s their opportunity to meet with and ask questions of members of the entire Canadian value chain. This approach is unique to Canada and the two-way dialogue benefits both customers and the Canadian industry in terms of understanding current and future needs.”
The website CanadianWheat.ca provides information related to the 2018 new crop including a comprehensive Crop in Review document and copies of the presentations given during the new crop mission seminars.
The review of the 2018 growing season in Canada highlighted the below average rainfall and high temperatures experienced by the southern regions of the Prairie provinces. The review also commented on how the crops in many regions benefited from ground moisture and the widespread adoption of minimum and zero-till farming practices. Since 2011, Canada’s prairie growing regions have seen increases in soil organic carbon and decreases in soil erosion. The report also broke down crop production and quality across the major wheat growing regions.
