Real Ag on the Weekend: Sask. Wheat pledges $6.2 million for new facility

Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, hosts Real Ag on the Weekends on Saturday afternoons from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m on 980 CJME and 650 CKOM.

Here is a selection of news from the Sept. 21 show.

Content hosted by iono.fm

An artist’s rendering of the proposed GATE facility in Winnipeg. (GATE Canada website)

Sask. Wheat contributes to GATE project

Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission is among four provincial grower organizations that announced $13.4 million in funding this week for the newly launched Gate Capital Campaign.

Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, and Grain Farmers of Ontario are the other grower contributors in the $102 million Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (GATE) project to be built in downtown Winnipeg.

The new facility will provide office space for Cereals Canada as well as new state-of-the-art technical areas such as analytical labs, pilot processing and research facilities.

Cereals Canada is contributing $5 million from its reserves to the project.

Shaun Haney talked to Davidson farmer Rob Stone, who is also a Sask. Wheat board member and a member of the capital raise committee for GATE.

Q: What is GATE?

A: The GATE project is a campaign to build a new technology exchange area for Cereals Canada … to have all of the milling and technical expertise in one upgraded building where we can showcase to our customers around the world,
all the good things that Canadian wheat and cereals can do. Sask. Wheat is a large portion of the wheat acres and our mandate is for market development.

Q: Why a building?

A: You need to have somewhere to operate, you need to have somewhere for your technical equipment. The current Cereals Canada facility in Winnipeg is not a suitable space for more modern equipment and the the lease is running out. We need a facility that does the technical work, hosts delegations, provides training etc.

Q: Why is Sask. Wheat making such a large investment?

A: The amount that has been committed by Sask. Wheat is $6,243,000 for foundational funding. It’s a formula within the fundraising constructs, and that was the request. The board has decided to commit that funding with the expectation that they will fulfill the fund raising goal.

Market development, market access are critical and we can’t do it as a provincial organization — we need to be invested in the national organization to accomplish this work. The overall goal is just over $100 million for the project.

We’re the kind of the foundational people. The farmers need to show the support for this; this benefits the farmers the most, but we need to be the ones that are on board and show our support first.

Q: Is this outside the mandate of commodity groups like Sask. Wheat?

A: Market development, market access are all within the mandate. We need the facility, we need the equipment, and that’s fulfilling the roles of taking the research and marketing it to our international customers.

Q: Will grain companies be stepping up from a capital requirement standpoint? Where’s the rest of the money going to come from?

A: There’s a plan in place, and I don’t feel at liberty to discuss that.

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India extends duty-free pea imports

India announced late last week that it would once again extend the timeline for duty-free imports of yellow peas until Dec. 31. India originally lifted the duties on pea imports on a temporary basis in December 2023. Real Ag talked to Greg Sherwick from Pulse Canada.

Q: Was this expected?

A: I’m not sure too many people really expected this news. It’s quite difficult to get a good read on what’s influencing policy change and the timing of announcements in India, but there are a few things that we do watch for.

For example, what stands out to us right now is how food price inflation might be impacting these policy decisions. Overall food price inflation in India has remained quite high around the 6 per cent mark, and even higher in rural areas but the key is pulse price inflation is stubbornly high. It was 13.6 per cent in August and that’s the 15th straight month of double digit price increases on pulses.

It’s not unreasonable to think that the extension of that policy is linked to the government of India’s mandate to keep these staple sources of protein available and affordable. Also, there are six state assembly elections between June and November, so controlling food prices as people head to the polls is likely a factor as well.

Q: What kind of volume might we see as far as crop movement with the tariff exemption extended? Will we see more pea crop moving to India because of this?

A: I don’t want to make a projection but India imported over 800,000 tons of yellow peas from Canada in 2023-24 as that restriction was lifted. In roughly six months, we were able to move 800,000 tons of product into India. So the question is what is India in the market for in terms of overall volumes over the course of this next four months, and how much of that is going to be subject to intense competition with Russia and how much of summer season crop which will be harvested in October will influence the overall volumes they’re interested in importing. I’m sure we can anticipate some big numbers but it takes time to make these deals and move the product.

Q: What is relationship right now with trade with India from the pulse perspective?

A: Despite the news last year of the alleged assassination of a Canadian citizen by the Indian government that shelved free trade talks at the time, the relationship at a business-to-business and at industry-to-industry level has remained incredibly strong. We had a good movement of lentils throughout some of the most difficult times from a diplomatic tension perspective.

The proof is in what’s actually happened, the business hasbeen done. We have remained in close contact, and it is safe to say that the things are in a relatively good place.

Winter weather looking colder

October looks like it will be drier than September, says Matt Makens of Makens Weather.

For the remainder of this year, La Nina is very likely to move in. It’s already developing in the ocean conditions, Makens said.

“Classically in the fall, that can deliver moisture to the central and western prairies. Fall with La Nina we can be quite mild, especially central and in eastern areas, but once we hit December you’ll notice it is getting a lot colder,” he said.

“Comparing this incoming winter to last, it will be colder. We will likely have more frequent snow. Book your vacations south and buy your hay now — it’s a favorable price compared to where it will be in a few months.”

These questions and answers have been edited and condensed.

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