If price predictions are correct, the 2024-25 crop year will see significant price declines for most crops. Wheat and flax are the only crops where prices may be a bit better than the crop year that just ended. The Market Analysis Group within Agriculture Canada issues regular outlooks for the principal field crops grown in […] Read more
Kevin Hursh, PAg
Stories by Kevin Hursh, PAg
Recent analysis on capital gains tax is misleading
Farmers now have another reason to bash the Trudeau Liberals — the increase in the capital gains tax inclusion rate. Unfortunately, many of the arguments against the tax don’t withstand scrutiny. Certainly, taxes of all kinds are too high in Canada. In the case of the federal government, the public employee contingent has ballooned, expanding […] Read more
Better get ready for another Trump presidency
The assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump will have wide-ranging ramifications, including important impacts on Canadian agriculture. As farmers, we tend to fixate on the weather, crop development and the direction of grain prices, but international events such as this shooting set the stage for the years ahead. Any doubt about Trump regaining […] Read more
Long-range weather forecasts prove unreliable
Why do we do it? Why do we listen to all the long-range weather forecasts over the winter that try to predict what the growing season will be like, when year after year they prove themselves to be largely useless? In 2021, the Prairies had an epic drought and this year has seen an abnormally […] Read more
Many stories are behind seeded acreage stats
There weren’t a lot of surprises in the June 27 seeded acreage report from Statistics Canada. However, the decisions behind what producers plant as well as the long-term acreage trends are intriguing. StatCan seeded acreages for most crops were not too far from grain trade expectations. One exception may have been barley, down nearly 13 […] Read more
Field shelterbelts were never the right solution
Sometime in the mid to late 1980s when drought, soil erosion and terrible grain farm economics were plaguing the sector, I recall a Save our Soils meeting in my hometown. A portable sign helped advertise the meeting, but someone rearranged the letters to spell “Save our Souls.” That actually captured the sentiment at the time […] Read more
Gophers, insects, weather: perennial problems persist
Producers are dealing with a long list of production and management issues. While many have recurring themes, some have a unique twist. I would never have guessed that gophers could be such a big problem over such a widespread area of the southern Prairies. Unlike the control of grasshoppers and flea beetles, gophers can’t be […] Read more
More retired farmers opt to sell rather than lease
According to longtime farmland realtor Tim Hammond, retired farmers are becoming more likely to sell some or all of their land rather than rent it out. This shift in attitudes could have an impact on the farmland market in years to come. About one-third of Saskatchewan farmland is leased and while the land owned by […] Read more
Wet start to growing season bodes well
It’s early in the growing season and it’s impossible to predict the twists and turns of weather patterns in the weeks and months ahead. However, here are some probable outcomes based on the weather and seeding progress. The per cent of average precipitation map for the growing season is a sight to behold. In most […] Read more
Farmland ownership issue resonates with voters
Many Saskatchewan residents may not even be aware that a Progressive Conservative party still exists in their province, much less know that the current leader is someone named Rose Buscholl. However, Buscholl and her party have tapped into a key concern — farmland ownership. The PCs and Buscholl have little hope of any electoral success. […] Read more
