Stewart Skinner's Page

Canadian Grain Commission Updates Grain Grading Rules for 2026-27 Crop Year

Beginning August 1, the Canadian Grain Commission will implement updated grading procedures for wheat, amber durum and red lentils.

Cattle industry stakeholders asked to take Canfax survey

Canfax plans to use the input to modernize its offerings

A California farmer is giving away tons of nectarines that he’s not allowed to sell

Thousands of visitors have flocked to Cesar Mora’s farm in central California this week to gather free nectarines. He’s giving his harvest away rather than watching it rot as he’s locked in a legal battle with a company that claims exclusive rights over the variety of white nectarine he grows. He’s shared more than 100,000 pounds (45,359 kilograms) since Monday. “It was really just a thought of not wasting a perfectly good product,” Mora said. “It does make a grower feel good, being able to share my fruit with people and see their immediate reaction that they love it. It’s a little bit of good in this tough situation that I’ve been dealing with.” The legal dispute highlights the tension that can emerge between farmers and the plant breeders and large industrial food marketers that create new varieties of plants and obtain the exclusive rights to sell them. Since 2023, the third-generation farmer in the agricultural community of Reedley in California’s Central Valley has been fighti

Big decisions put many farmers in same boat

There’s a lot of sweating, swatting, squinting — and quite possibly a little swearing — in Manitoba farmyards and fields this summer, as farmers navigate what’s turned into a hellish growing season. Anyone required to work outdoors in the heat and humidity must also suffer through the relentless swarms of voracious mosquitoes and flies brought on by the recent wet weather. The biting insect populations are unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years and they’re making outside life miserable for humans and livestock alike. It adds another layer to the frustration in a season when it seems nothing is going well. With each twist and turn, the “so now what?” questions keep piling up. Just getting around the farm or to town for supplies is a chore with roads and bridges washed out in some areas. And the weather alerts just keep coming — warnings of tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and more heavy rain. Even if fields haven’t been drowned out by the heavy downpours, it’s been difficult, if

Wheat Growers Call for New Thinking on Canada’s Wheat Breeding System

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is encouraging a national conversation about the future of Canada’s wheat breeding system with the publication of a new opinion article by Executive Director Darcy Pawlik in RealAgriculture. Titled “The Problem Isn’t the Cuts. It’s the System.”, the article argues that the discussion surrounding Canada’s public wheat breeding capacity should move beyond annual budget decisions and instead focus on creating a long-term delivery model that strengthens innovation, competitiveness and farmer outcomes. “The conversation has become centred on budget reductions, but that’s treating the symptom rather than the underlying issue,” said Pawlik. “The real opportunity is to ask whether Canada’s breeding system is structured to deliver the greatest possible value for farmers over the next fifty years.” The article highlights successful international approaches, including the United States, Australia and Europe, noting that while each has developed di