Richardson Pulls funding

[MBgrower]

JRI, Cargill, Vitera, Paterson, etc develop canola markets, not the canola council. With JRI pulling out, looks like our check fees might be going up so to support all the meetings in palm springs.

[blackpowder]

Do believe changes necessary.
They seem to be floundering.
But also know of an instance where a trade delegation benefited from the presence of a producer on a board being there.
I dont think grain cos negotiate tariffs etc.

[Klause]

Do believe changes necessary.
They seem to be floundering.
But also know of an instance where a trade delegation benefited from the presence of a producer on a board being there.
I dont think grain cos negotiate tariffs etc.

Problem is these producer organizations run over to other countries, make promises we can't keep, and make our whole industry look foolish.


If you've never direct marketed, traveled (not as a tourist), and talked to buyers (our customers) in other countries, you really have no place on one of these boards... No experience, no clue... Have to understand the culture of your buyer before you can make suggestions on how your product 'fits' into it.

[tweety]

Yea these groups better get their shit together and realize they represent farmers first

SaskFarmer, its an industry organization, farmers are just a tiny part of it.

Do you really thing the Prime Minister fixed the dockage issue? Or was it the CCC?

Farmers are of no real concern as long as they keep making canola.

[Quadtrack]

It’s debatable whether there is any point trying to counter some of the views in this thread.
Clearly some have not much history in farm issues and farmers that drive change for the betterment of the whole industry.
Don’t want to pay a levy for that industry support and goal of improvement? Don’t grow pulses! You would not be anyway if not for the investment in aschocyta and powdery mildew resistance. You likely get a refund from all the other check offs anyway. And of course would view running for and holding a board position a waste of your time. Oh right, refunder, can’t.
We went to the funeral of a long time canola industry leader a few weeks ago. 18 years he donated to trying to improve the markets, agronomy and system for all of us-many things we take for granted now, obviously. At least half of that time was completely donated including all expenses driving from Meadow Lake to meetings in Stoon or wherever. A true leader.
Check back and see how big the US market for canola oil and meal was 25 years ago. We hosted the very first tour for US based dieticians back about 25 years to share what we knew about canola-did that for a dozen years or more, all voluntary I might add. Did that make a difference to lead where we are now with entire restaurant chains using canola oil? Not exclusively for sure, but it had some impact.
Richardson has some points of merit in their withdrawal - a convention doesn’t need to be held in some fancy place -there are areas that should be trimmed-but there are areas where the involvement of Canola Council certainly have impact and benefit -the dockage issue for one, blackleg/port access issue another, and a fair bit of the Chinese market in the first place.
Some just want to whine and complain and cut down a system that although not perfect, has been a benefit.
And if you think there should be change, leave your levy in and become a board member to influence change.

[the big wheel]

I think part of the problem is this half ass were being paid we re donating thing so people don't want to say anything to be rude. But this is business and maybe we need to instead have money go directly to
deal with the increasing troubling issues that are occurring. Maybe shut the useless grow backward program and rechannel to deal with what's important.
Like for example
Grades of wheat
Markets for pulses
Get on top of the spray residue issue
Terminals closing
Roads crumbling
Seed costs

We re paying enough already in seed costs for companies to develop varieties.

Pay people have a defined job description and if the results aren't there make a change.

We're just floating along with groups in the pockets of their favourite politicians and getting left behind so many other countries.

[the big wheel]

If you're saying we should be handing out pats on the back for the way the pulse market has been destroyed that demonstrates the lack of understanding of what our troubles really are.

[blackpowder]

I feel the need to clarify.
I leave my checkoff dollars in.
I think our canola industry is a great example of success so far. The Canola Commission has done a great job with a history of great delegates. I could care less where they hold policy conventions. Not too many big players in Podunk.
I know nothing of the pulse commission. Wheat and barley commissions seem to me to be having growing pains.

[furrowtickler]

I can see Richardson’s point.
Look at pulse levy’s..
Until the whole pulse industry addresses the root rot issue truthfully, all the market development and trips all over the world are useless if solutions don’t come immediately. They let this root rot issue slide far far too long and I fear it now may be too late .
I brought up the issue to the pulse Growers of a link from fusarium in wheat to fusarium root rot in peas back 5 years ago . It was 100% ignored, so was anouther farm researcher 5 years before that from north of here, and all they could focus on was aphenomices. Well now fusarium root rot is a much bigger problem than they ever could have imagined.
Yes they are finally trying to address the problem, but it’s almost too late . There was zero interest in pulse breeding when root rots first showed up. They are just now looking into breeding for root rot diseases, over 10 years too late. Why ? , because plant breeders and seed growers wanted to push out the varieties on their shelves first . It was all about money for them and not what was in the best interest for the farmer or the industry long term . All the while traveling around the world promoting pulses and having meetings in exotic locals..... ignoring the elephant in the room , blaming weather and farmers crop rotations . But guess what that’s not 100% the cause , it’s barely 50%.
No one in the pulse industry wants to look at other factors that are enhancing root rots like fusarium other than climate and rotation. There are definite links but no one in Canada will even consider addressing the issue for fear of having their careers shut down .

There are a few people who understand, but no one in the Industry will give them the time of day.

Google glyphosate / fusarium....

We have a neighbor who is a low input very low glyphosate user . His rotation is peas / wheat , 50/50 , and has been for 15 years at least . He has no issues with root rots in peas or fusarium in his wheat .
Makes one pause and think about everything we are being told by the experts about weather, rotation and fertility and root rots . Actually, I am more concerned about what we are not being told ..... certain herbicides are causing injury and nutrient tie up that exaggerate root rot incedence dramatically.

A lot of new good varieties have come from pulse levy funding over the years , there is no doubt . But the past 7-10 years a huge amount of the levy money should have been directly going to breeding varieties for root rot resistance and further research as to the real causes but it was not.
A little fact , a research project was carried out 15 years ago and there was a fungicide product developed to control fusarium root rots in many crops . It disappeared from existence. I know a few researchers who seen the research papers . It got shelved . Fungicides are a massive business.
I was just at Ag Days in Brandon , Soybeans grown in rotations for the past 10-12 years are now showing big issues with fusarium root rots and other crop disease .... just like the peas did in eastearn sask and now western sask.
If they fail to look at all the “root” issues ... soybeans will be a dead crop as well in the next 5-10 years starting in Manitoba .

Sorry for the long “rant” , but a lot of money has been wasted on pulse levy’s and other check off policies. As well as money spent by Richardson’s . I can see why they pulled out .
Money does not grow on trees , results need to be accountable. Yes a lot of good has come from some of this funding , but there has also been a lot of waste and loss of focus . Money is tighter than ever as input , machinery and land costs continue to rise .

[Guest]

Yeah I cant get flax to pencil on our farm. maybe at 3-4 dollar premium to canola it would start to look ok. But it is a miserable crop to harvest in this area as well.

the only advantage here is that it is really cheap to grow . we can get 30 bpa a lot . in the wet years we could grow a better than usual crop of canola after flax. sold for $14 picked up last year . didn't grow any this year

[Klause]

Wheat full of fusarium

Barley full of fusarium.

Peas and lentils dying from root rots.

Sclerotinia in canola.

white mold, and PRR in beans.


Canada has the most chemically-intensive agriculture in the world (yes, we use more products than Europe even).

We have the highest incidences of crop diseases.

Technically have the least conducive climate for disease (super cold winters, dry (relative) summers).

Yet nobody is willing to look at what's happening.


Overfertilization compared to yield potential.

Over use of glyphosate, and other chelating chemicals.

Overuse of fungicides (they kill a lot more than the bad diseases).



Beans-beans-beans-beans is a rotation in Brazil. The US is corn/beans.

None of these places have the disease problems we do...

Yet we're spraying Prosaro by the cube to "supress" a disease that shouldn't even really be a problem.

Organics have next to no problems with fuzz, sclero, root rots, etc.

I wonder when people's eyes will open, probably never... gotta grow more and more bushels of low grade, low quality crap nobody wants

[farmaholic]

Klause.... if we treated our bodies like we treat our fields and bombard them with everything possible......our bodies would probably "be out of balance" too.

Some days it seems like a bit of an assault.

[furrowtickler]

Wheat full of fusarium

Barley full of fusarium.

Peas and lentils dying from root rots.

Sclerotinia in canola.

white mold, and PRR in beans.


Canada has the most chemically-intensive agriculture in the world (yes, we use more products than Europe even).

We have the highest incidences of crop diseases.

Technically have the least conducive climate for disease (super cold winters, dry (relative) summers).

Yet nobody is willing to look at what's happening.


Overfertilization compared to yield potential.

Over use of glyphosate, and other chelating chemicals.

Overuse of fungicides (they kill a lot more than the bad diseases).



Beans-beans-beans-beans is a rotation in Brazil. The US is corn/beans.

None of these places have the disease problems we do...

Yet we're spraying Prosaro by the cube to "supress" a disease that shouldn't even really be a problem.

Organics have next to no problems with fuzz, sclero, root rots, etc.

I wonder when people's eyes will open, probably never... gotta grow more and more bushels of low grade, low quality crap nobody wants

Pretty much sums it up ...

Also Beans , Beans , Beans in a wet climate like Brazil ..... that’s exactly the point , it’s not all rotation and weather .

[Klause]

Pretty much sums it up ...

Also Beans , Beans , Beans in a wet climate like Brazil ..... that’s exactly the point , it’s not all rotation and weather .

Yup...


theres guys in Argentina growing (lentils-peas-corn) then (soy-wheat) rotations... can you imagine doing that here? And that's a way wetter way hotter climate.


I've got friends that grow old conventional canola and use Edge. They literally out yield the new hybrids side-by-side.

For $20/acre instead of $90...

[bgmb]

You guys are interesting. rr beans 5 years straight is great in South america oh they are sooooo smart. but canadian farmers are so stupid for having a crop rotation, using fertilizer to replace nutrients and spraying fungicides. 90+ bu wheat this year no fuz lots of fert and fungicides. What am I doing Wrong lol