Are crop advancements counterproductive? Some producers think so. It’s certainly true that when a crop becomes easier to grow, production can outpace demand and cause the price to drop. This is particularly the case for crops with a set, finite market and few alternative uses. This issue came up at the recent Durum Summit held […] Read more
Crop research keeps agriculture industry competitive
Industry wants Trudeau to talk pulses in India
Canada’s pulse industry hopes tariff and non-tariff trade barriers are on the agenda when the prime minister visits India next month. Justin Trudeau plans to lead the Canadian delegation on a state visit from Feb. 17- 23 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As part of the visit, Trudeau is expected to […] Read more
Commodity groups abound, but system works
Western Canada has an array of commissions, boards and councils representing all the crops we grow. Not surprisingly, there are always changes afoot in this complicated jigsaw puzzle. Many producers wonder why we have so many organizations and what exactly they all accomplish. The way legislation works in Canada, it’s very difficult to establish multi-province […] Read more
WP livestock report – Jan. 25 – 2018
HOGS RISE The U.S. national live price average for barrows and gilts was US$54.33 per hundredweight Jan. 19, up from $53.97 Jan. 12. U.S. hogs averaged $69.36 on a carcass basis Jan. 19, down from $69.45 Jan. 12. The U.S. pork cutout was $81.44 per cwt. Jan. 19, up from $79.81 Jan. 12. The estimated […] Read more
American farmer supports NAFTA free trade
OTTAWA – Humans, sometimes, prefer to see the world as glass half-full. For Scott Frazier, a farmer and rancher from Texas, that tendency explains a lot about the free trade debate in the U.S. “Like everything, everyone wants to cry wolf. But no one wants to pat somebody on the back for the good things…. […] Read more
ADM attempts giant ag merger with Bunge
Updated 9 am CST Jan. 23 CHICAGO/CALGARY – Top U.S. grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland Co has proposed a takeover of Bunge Ltd, according to a person familiar with the approach, which could set up a bidding war with Swiss-based rival Glencore Plc. Large grain traders that make money by buying, selling, storing and shipping […] Read more
Significant growth expected in oat processing
Global demand for raw oats looks poised to take a giant leap forward over the next five to 10 years, according to a well-known market analyst. However, that’s unlikely to provide any short-term comfort for Canadian oat growers, who are sitting on large carry-out stocks and selling into a soft market. “We’ve got about a […] Read more
Tough questions about producer checkoffs
The need to fund research is generally accepted by farmers, but spending by various commissions is under scrutiny
It’s annual general meeting season, and as usual, these meetings give growers a chance to scrutinize the priorities and spending habits of organizations that collect tens of millions of dollars annually through producer levies. Saskatchewan farmers now pay levies on almost every crop they grow. The amount farmers pay in producer levies has increased steadily […] Read more
Combine calibration made easy
Two companies offer remote controlled drop pans that allow growers to safely collect samples of material blown out the back of combines. Both products are powered by electromagnets that disengage at the push of a button. The pans then fall from their mounted position under the combine and collect a representative sample of how much […] Read more
Weed pioneer pushed new ideas on resistance
Neil Harker retires from Agriculture Canada after 33 year career, which included a shift in focus to non-herbicide alternatives
When Neil Harker began his career in weed science, most of the conversations revolved around one topic: herbicides. Back then, in the 1980s, weed scientists studied what to spray and how to spray it but little else. “I kind of fell in line with everybody (in weed science) and just started looking at herbicide options,” […] Read more
