With the 2021-22 crop year approaching, the following changes will be coming into effect on August 1, 2021 for the Canadian agriculture sector in western Canada.

Canary seed will now be designated as an official grain

Canary seed will soon be designated as an official grain under the Canada Grain Act. Grain producers will benefit from the same rights, services and protections on their canary seed crop as they do on other regulated grains, including payment protections and the right to dispute their grain’s assessment when delivering to a licensed primary grain elevator. A grade determinant table along with a moisture chart has been added to the CGC website.

Service fee reductions

The Canadian Grain Commission is reducing service fees collected for 4 official grain inspection and official grain weighing services. This reduction is in response to the sustained growth in grain export volumes in recent years and aims to better align fee revenues with fixed service delivery costs.

Expanded DON testing now available through the Harvest Sample Program

Starting this fall, Canadian producers who send in barley samples for the Canadian Grain Commission’s Harvest Sample Program will now be able to receive DON test results for their crop. Previously, the Harvest Sample Program included DON tests for wheat, durum and corn.

Wheat class modernization final changes take effect

After a 3-year notification period, the following Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat varieties will be moving to the Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) class. These changes mark the end of the Canadian Grain Commission’s wheat class modernization:

AAC Redwater
AC Domain
Muchmore
Vesper
5605 HR CL

New frost print grading tool for wheat

New frost prints will be available for grain inspectors when grading frost in CWRS and Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) wheat. The prints will replace existing physical samples. The new frost prints are more consistent than physical samples and are easier to reproduce for stakeholders who require additional copies. The Official Grain Grading Guide will be updated to reflect this new tool.

Non-registered variety order updates

Changes are also coming to the non-registered variety order. The Canadian Grain Commission will remove Appendix A from the order effective August 1, 2021. Breeders and owners of pea varieties listed in the appendix were provided with the opportunity to register their varieties with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Field pea varieties listed in the appendix that have not been registered by October 1, 2021 will be considered unregistered varieties. The non-registered variety order remains in effect for beans, chickpeas and corn.