To be a little mouse in the corner listening to boardroom conversations at G3 Canada would no doubt be very interesting. G3 has unflinchingly advanced nothing but positive news on all its country terminal and port terminal projects. Of course, its crown jewel is the big export terminal with loop tracks under construction in Vancouver. […] Read more
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What’s the real story at G3 Canada?
When hitting India, save some vitriol for Italy
Indian tariffs on pulse crops have received a great deal of attention. Less well known, but arguably more offside, are the measures keeping Canadian durum out of Italy. Indian tariffs are blamed for decimating pulse prices in Canada, particularly for red lentils. Truth is, pulse exports had practically stalled before the tariffs were applied last […] Read more
It’s not quite deja vu in grain transportation
Railway performance may seem like the same old problem resurfacing, but in many ways, it’s different this time. In the horrible grain backlog of 2013-14, the problem wasn’t universally recognized until the situation was well advanced. The ugliness started early in the winter, but wasn’t fully acknowledged until mid-winter. By then, it was a full-blown […] Read more
More fertilizer price info would be welcome
According to the farm input price survey published monthly by Alberta Agriculture, the average price of full service anhydrous fertilizer (82-0-0) increased from roughly $782 a tonne in January to $818 in February. Phosphate prices (11-51-0) also increased, going from about $701 to $725 per tonne. Somewhat surprisingly, urea prices (46-0-0) continued their three month […] Read more
New options to consider for risk management
It’s the time of year for key risk management decisions. No two farms are alike, so there’s no cookie-cutter approach that will work for everyone, but here are some considerations. First of all, while crop insurance is a great program, it’s important to remember that it’s production insurance and not revenue insurance. The collapse in […] Read more
Deriding NAFTA suits Trump’s purposes
Seldom, if ever, has there been so much trade uncertainty on so many fronts. Ever since U.S. President Donald Trump’s election, the future of NAFTA has been an open question. Can the trade deal between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico be renegotiated or will Trump pull out of the agreement? Carlo Dade of the Canada […] Read more
Blame the PM for transportation, but not India
The two biggest issues for the prairie grain sector right now are the dismal state of railway performance and the blockage of pulse crop sales to India. Blame for the rail issue rests squarely with the federal government. Not so regarding the situation with India. Rail service has gone from subpar to disappointing to dismal, […] Read more
It’s time to reconsider farm income transfer programs
Did you manage to get away for a winter vacation? We did. In fact, this is being written from sunny Mexico. Unfortunately, we have to go back home to the cold later today. You meet a lot of Canadians at winter vacation spots, and a lot of them are farmers, particularly grain producers. Back home, […] Read more
Let the spring seeded acreage guessing game begin
The seeding intentions guessing game is always a lot of fun — what crops will be up this year and by how much and which crops will see their acreage shrink and how will all of this ultimately affect the market? Some different dynamics are at play this year. Most analysts agree canola acreage will […] Read more
Hybrid mustard will provide advantage
The first hybrid brown mustard should be available in limited quantities for Canadian farmers next year with a significant acreage available in 2020. In following years, if all goes well, a type of quasi hybrid could be available in the yellow mustard class, as could hybrid oriental mustard. As someone who works on contract for […] Read more
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