Farmers will soon be facing a billion-dollar question. One of the most popular farm programs in recent history is coming to an end, forcing producers to decide what to do with the $4 billion sitting in their Net Income Stabilization Accounts. “Producers are going to have until March 31, 2009, to drain their existing NISA […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
High payments not really a boon
Government payments to farmers hit an 11-year high in the first half of 2003. Producers received nearly $2.03 billion through programs such as crop insurance, Net Income Stabilization Accounts and income disaster assistance for the first half of the year. That compares to $1.13 billion for the same period in 2002, and an average of […] Read more
Cellulose-based ethanol plan still alive
Amidst the rubble of Saskatchewan’s crumbling ethanol plans, one project continues to slog away with little fanfare. In February 2003, a group of 100 investors from the Nipawin, Sask., area formed a new generation co-operative to get the ball rolling on an ethanol plant that will rival what Broe Companies Inc. was supposed to build […] Read more
Different shades of green seen in ethanol
There are two ways to make ethanol out of agricultural crops. Grain-based ethanol facilities like the one Broe Companies Inc. plans to build in Belle Plaine, Sask., use corn and cereal grains to produce the alternative fuel. Cellulose-based plants such as Iogen Corp.’s demonstration facility in Ottawa and the new plant proposed by the Nipawin […] Read more
Lentil crop pretty but yield, demand down
There’s not much lentil brokers and traders agree on this time of year but one thing is certain, the 2003 harvest is one of the best looking crops ever grown. “I have never seen lentils with that much brilliance in colour. It’s like they’re neon,” said Saskatoon commodity broker Larry Weber. Scott Cunningham, marketing manager […] Read more
Canada and Australia back in the ring
In the red trunks, weighing in at 18.5 million tonnes, back from a technical knockout in 2002, the pride of Western Canada – Wally the Walloping Wheat Crop. In the blue trunks, topping the scales at 24.1 million tonnes, also on the comeback trail, the Thunder from Down Under – Bruce the Bruising Bushel Buster. […] Read more
Pea diet a moving experience
A health researcher says a waste product from farming can be a useful waste-enhancer in humans. University of Saskatchewan pharmacy and nutrition graduate student Wendy Dahl has shown that adding four grams of ground pea hull fibre to the diets of nursing home residents dramatically relieves constipation, a chronic condition plaguing the elderly. “People in […] Read more
U.S. millers bolster CWB trade stance
Key testimony at a vital trade hearing on Canadian wheat exports boiled down to the age-old debate of what came first, the chicken or the egg. American millers argued they need to import Canadian wheat and durum because there isn’t enough grown in the United States. Producers countered they’re not seeding as much of those […] Read more
Fertilizer prices ready for liftoff
Natural gas prices have reached what fertilizer manufacturers are calling “a new plateau,” which means farmers can expect to pay more for nitrogen. Jim Pendergast, director of corporate relations with Agrium, said gas prices, which are measured in units called mmbtus, have been above $5 US per mmbtu for most of the year. And that’s […] Read more
China ready to make waves in bean industry
The president of Pulse Canada recently returned from a fact-finding mission to China with one fact he found particularly interesting. “The conclusion I came to is that China will be anything it wants to be in the bean industry,” said Gordon Bacon. “Beans are the crop where China has hit the world stage in a […] Read more
