Canada suffers lower crop, poorer quality
POOR weather conditions contributed to a smaller than anticipated Canadian wheat crop according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.
And to add insult to injury for Canadian producers, the wet sowing season, followed by a dry growing season then a wet and snowy harvest also saw quality drop well below normal.
USDA flagged total Canadian wheat production at 32.35 million tonnes, down 144,000 tonnes on its previous projection.
Around 11 per cent of the total crop was only feed quality, which is a high percentage by Canadian standards.
India awash with pulses
AUSTRALIAN pulse producers looking hopefully at the massive Indian market may have to wait longer.
Indian media is reporting a big year in terms of domestic production and the prospect it could mean a 60 per cent drop in Indian pulse imports.
There are also high levels of stocks further lowering the chances India will need to up its purchasing programs.
India is the world's largest market for pulses for human consumption.
Mouse numbers on the rise
Recent monitoring and trapping efforts co-ordinated by the National Mouse Group (NMG) confirmed the fears of farmers, especially in southern Australia, that mouse numbers could be on the rise.
The monitoring detected high rates of pregnancy in females - adding to concerns about the risk of crop damage at sowing.
GRDC-supported mouse researcher Steve Henry from CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, said the combination of an abundance of grain remaining in paddocks and good rainfall were leading to ideal conditions for mouse breeding, and growers in some areas are already reporting increased activity.
S&W purchase
SEED business S&W continue to expand their Australian footprint, this time with the purchase of South Australia-based Pasture Genetics.
The acquisition is S&W's third Australian purchase and its fourth buy in the past six years.
International executive vice-president for S&W, David Callachor said the deal was extremely good news for Australian farmers.
"We are actively developing our business in Australia to expand the range of solutions we offer to local and global agriculturalists.
Pasture Genetics was an agricultural seed sales business based in Wingfield, South Australia with a focus on pasture seeds and a staff of 30.