As the pandemic rages in countries around the world and with an uncertain time frame for the return to any semblance of normal, extra grain storage could become valuable. Canadian grain movement was hit with a long list of problems well before the pandemic arrived in North America. Since then, although Canadian National Railway’s performance […] Read more
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Pandemic fears boost demand for storage
Agriculture weathers pandemic fairly well
Have you heard the story of the guy falling out of a five-storey building? As he drops past each floor, he calls out to the people on the balcony, “so far, so good.” So far, in the economic freefall caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, agriculture is in much better shape than a lot of other […] Read more
Crop price predictions difficult to make
Some cropping choices may be winners and some may be losers due to the pandemic, but it’s really tough to know what will be happening in the world six to eight months from now. It’s a reasonable bet that oil prices will still be low by autumn. Even if Russia and Saudi Arabia end their […] Read more
COVID-19 overshadows all other issues
It will be three days from time of writing until this is published and in the present circumstances three days is an eternity. Apologies are in order because this article won’t have the latest developments. However, it’s safe to say that COVID-19 is changing the world in ways that seemed unimaginable just a short time […] Read more
Seed royalty pilot could show viable path
You can’t really blame the seed industry for forging ahead with a farm-saved seed royalty project, but it’s too bad the plan is vehemently opposed by the prairie wheat and barley commissions. Last winter featured some heated initial consultations where the two options of an endpoint royalty system and a farm-saved seed trailing royalty were […] Read more
Agriculture sideswiped by COVID-19 outbreak
How much will coronavirus (COVID-19) end up costing Canadian farmers? Of course, the answer to this question can’t even be estimated without knowing how long the threat is going to last and how many people will end up infected. Fewer new cases are being reported in China so that’s a good sign, but it’s disconcerting […] Read more
More negatives than positives in crop outlook
As the growing season quickly approaches, the few positives to celebrate are overshadowed by an unusually long list of serious concerns. Comparing grain prices to one year ago, canola is down about $20 a tonne, wheat is down more than $10, feed barley is down by about $40 and yellow peas are down about $14 […] Read more
Climate change activism causes latest headache
Add another worry to grain transportation. As if labour disputes, bad weather and system bottlenecks weren’t enough, we can now add civil disobedience. The blockade of rail lines by protestors has rapidly become a serious concern with grain being one of the numerous commodities affected. Unlike a strike or lockout and unlike a winter cold […] Read more
Tory leadership hopefuls offered carbon plan
If the Conservatives are going to replace the Liberals in the next federal election, they need a credible plan to address carbon emissions. Cancelling the perverse carbon tax is a popular idea in much of the country, but urban Canadians don’t want to be left without a plan to cut emissions. Conservative leadership hopefuls are […] Read more
Pre-harvest glyphosate access slipping away
The noose continues to tighten around glyphosate as more companies refuse to buy grain that has had a pre-harvest application. Three recent examples have materialized. These are in addition to the oat and pulse crop buyers that have been shunning crop treated with glyphosate for the past few years. Roquette, the company building a $400 […] Read more
