Several insurance options are worthy of consideration for the upcoming year. Some are new and others are made more relevant by current market conditions. Let’s start with the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) and its applicability for cow-calf producers. The program has been around for a number of years with awareness and participation gradually […] Read more
Kevin Hursh, PAg
Stories by Kevin Hursh, PAg
Farmland prices may have reached turning point
What if current grain prices and squeezed margins are the new normal? Certainly, there are well-capitalized operations with a great deal of resilience. However, you have to think there will be operations financially stretched by aggressive expansion. Timing is everything when a new producer starts out or when a farm makes a major expansion. Buying […] Read more
Lower farm profitability will have an impact
With the substantial reduction in grain prices over the past five months, the profitability picture in the crops sector has dimmed considerably. That appears to be having an impact on the farmland market while making AgriStabililty look more appealing. Let’s start with AgriStability, a program that many farmers have dropped. Slightly less than half of […] Read more
Time to prepare for disappointing grain prices
Unless some unforeseen geopolitical event transpires, lower grain prices will be the reality for the growing season ahead and that will have wide-ranging ramifications. South of the border, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting 2024 net farm income at $116 billion, down from $156 billion in 2023 and the record $186 billion in 2022. […] Read more
Prairie crop profitability picture changes focus
According to a recent profitability analysis by Rayglen Commodities of Saskatoon, lentils have the potential to be a top money earner for the upcoming growing season while flax, soybeans and fababeans are at the bottom of the list. Changing price projections have altered the expected profitability for many crops over the past couple months. Saskatchewan […] Read more
Interoperability bill is a win for common sense
Many farmers are probably unaware of the legislation regarding the interoperability of equipment, but it’s a rare example of parliamentarians coming together to support a good cause. In simple terms, interoperability refers to the ability of short-line equipment manufacturers to have their products work on mainline machines. The issue came to a head with John […] Read more
Producer bucks the trend with a mixed farm
Mixed farms, which produce both grain and cattle, don’t get a lot of attention. In fact, you could call them an endangered species. For that reason, it was refreshing to see a presentation called Bucking the Trend at the recent Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon. The presenter was Duane Thompson of Tee Two Land & […] Read more
Best not to put off urea, phosphate purchases
Producers who haven’t yet purchased their urea fertilizer will want to do so before the second half of February. That was one of the recommendations from a Jan. 17 session at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon. The fertilizer market outlook was provided by Noah Bishop, a trader with ADM Fertilizer. ADM is a worldwide player […] Read more
Variety use agreements prompt spirited debate
At the Jan. 9 annual meeting of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, a resolution on variety use agreements, sometimes referred to as trailing royalties, received a great deal of debate culminating in a very close vote. While all the crop commissions do commendable work, SPG was the first checkoff established in the province, and the organization has […] Read more
Grain sector faces three big concerns this year
I wanted to call them elephants in the room, but that term applies to big issues no one wants to discuss. In this case, farmers are more than willing to discuss and even obsess about them. The agricultural input industry, on the other hand, would rather steer conversations in other directions. Big concern No. 1 […] Read more
