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
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Organic group restructures
There will be an important SOD turning ceremony in the organic community this fall. Saskatchewan Organic Directorate, or SOD, is going through an organ-izational review to revamp itself. The group is looking for a new structure and direction to attract more members. “We really haven’t been able to reach a good group of the farmers,” […] Read more
Late rain shouldn’t hurt quality
In a business where timing is everything, Mother Nature’s clock was a bit out of sync this year. Prairie farmers finally got the rains they had been praying for but they arrived one month late. Much of Manitoba, northeastern Saskatchewan and north-central Alberta received soaking rain last week at a stage in the growing season […] Read more
EU’s organic door could close
Two years, three months and 26 days. That’s how much time organic producers have to secure future access to one of their biggest markets. After Dec. 31, 2005, ships loaded with organic grain will be turned away from European Union ports unless Canada’s name appears on a list of approved exporters. Tick … tick … […] Read more
Europe touted as important organic market
Sylvain Wilson’s responsibility at Agriculture Canada is to co-ordinate market development in the European Union. Every year he sits down with senior officials from the 10 provinces to devise a strategy for selling agriculture commodities to one of the world’s largest and most affluent markets. He develops a list of four or five agricultural priorities […] Read more
Floor prices act as sales guideline
It’s the question that haunts many farmers this time of year – when do I sell my grain? A Saskatchewan brokerage firm is trying to make that decision easier by establishing floor prices for various commodities that farmers should not sell below. Accounting for average yields, costs of production, export demand and global production, Johnston’s […] Read more
Farm Corp founder keeps marketing dream alive
Farm Corp Marketing International is two years into its five-year mandate to negotiate an international floor price for wheat. It’s a lofty goal that seems unattainable but the company insists it is making progress. Along the way, Farm Corp has morphed into something more than an advocate for change. It is now operating as a […] Read more
Critics say Canadian crop report comes too late
Statistics Canada can predict with a fair degree of confidence the complaints its July production estimate will generate. The report never fails to elicit criticism from those in the trade who think it is inaccurate, outdated and market-distorting. This year was no exception. In his markets newsletter, Saskatoon commodity broker Larry Weber pointed out that […] Read more
People, presses and publications (80th supp)
Editors and publishers have come and gone but throughout most of the 80-year history of the Western Producer there has been one constant fixture in the owner’s chair. That changed Jan. 16, 2002, when Saskatchewan Wheat Pool divested itself of its long-standing interest in the newspaper business. Serious financial woes that came to light in […] Read more
Study explores organic farm profit
Norman Bromm doesn’t need a study to tell him organic farming is more profitable than conventional methods. The Tisdale, Sask., farmer just has to look at his own books. “I make money where I didn’t before,” said Bromm, whose farm was certified organic in 1990. His daughter, Jennifer Bromm, decided to take a more scientific […] Read more
