Ken Goudy doesn’t plan to grow a crop next year and he hopes he can persuade other farmers in Canada and the United States to do the same.
The Melfort, Sask., farmer is a member of a new non-profit group called Focus on Sabbatical Inc. They believe taking their land out of production will lead to higher grain prices.
“By allowing the market to become short we would see the increases in grain prices that are necessary,” Goudy told reporters at a farm near Regina. “We’ve come to the realization that for 20 years there has been no correction in grain prices.”
Read Also
Spider mites big soybean problem this season
Spider mite issues have been geographically limited but significant where they occur, said John Gavloski, an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture.
Cal Strinholm, another farmer from the Melfort area, admitted he and others who sign on to the sabbatical will be taking a risk, but they also take a risk every year they seed.
“I invested $135 an acre into a wheat crop which, in its frozen state, is worth about $125.”
Goudy said the group will proceed throughout the province, trying to sign up members before moving on to Manitoba, Alberta and six states.
Each member is required to pay a $250 fee, which organizers say they will use to cover costs.
Goudy said the sabbatical won’t go ahead if too few participate.
He said a sabbatical is a better idea than a grain freeze – growing grain and storing it – because farmers won’t spend money for inputs. As well, there would not be two crops coming on to the market at the same time, which would drive prices down.
