Farmers’ money; Methane purpose; Dairy observed; Excess parasites; Same diesel; Auto parts; Stranded horses; Triple E Farmers’ money These comments are in response to the article on the front page of The Western Producer, Jan. 8, concerning the overcharge by the railways to ship farmers’ grain by rail in the 2007-08 crop year. The article […] Read more
Opinion — page 694
Letters to the editor
Oh deer: taxing wild game meat – Money In Your Pocket
One of the pleasures of hunting for game is filling a freezer with delicacies at far less than grocery store prices for domestic meat. In some cases, however, hunting is a subsistence activity that puts much needed food on a table that otherwise might be bare. So how is it possible that the taxman can […] Read more
The Uglier Scenario (not so ugly, maybe)
I’ve spent a lot of time recently studying the crop markets of the 1970s to see how they actually behaved in that golden period of high commodity prices. I’ve done that because one of the most compelling arguments of the past decade is that we’re in the midst of a long term commodity boom like […] Read more
Might not want to salute this one
There’s a pretty cool formation forming in oats futures on the Chicago Board of Trade. It’s pretty cool, and rather disturbing. It’s a “pennant,” which is related to “flag” formations in technical analysis. Basically, it’s when the highs and lows form converging lines, following a clear rise or fall in prices. (A flag is a […] Read more
Wonderwall of Worry
Are crops going to rise or fall into spring planting time in North America? That’s something I’m wondering about as I ponder South American weather, North American crop competition and a longstanding equity market observation. South American weather has been having an effect on the market, as dryness has worried buyers that the Argentine and […] Read more
China – boon or bust for crop prices
During his presentation at Manitoba Ag Days, Winnipeg analyst David Drozd pondered the question of whether China could pull a version of the “Great Grain Robbery,” the event that lit the spark that led to the early 1970s explosion in grain prices. That was when the Soviets showed that they were better businesspeople than the […] Read more
New, higher range for crops?
During his presentation to Manitoba Ag Days, Winnipeg technical analyst David Drozd made the argument that crop prices have likely moved into a new, higher long term trading range, much as they did in the early 1970s. He’s not the only analyst who’s made that argument. David Reimann of Informa Economics made the same observations […] Read more
Repay the money, but it won’t be easy – WP editorial
THE $59.8 million in overpayments charged to prairie grain farmers by Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway should, by rights, be repaid to them. As determined by the Canadian Transportation Agency, the railways didn’t adjust their freight rates during the 2007-08 crop year to reflect lower allowable costs for hopper car maintenance. As a […] Read more
Pause from political manoeuvring a blessed relief – Opinion
WHAT A difference a month makes. The past six weeks have been a blessed relief from the overheated political drama that was played out day after day on Parliament Hill in November and early December 2008. Every day brought more over-the-top developments. First, the Liberals under Stéphane Dion ran a disastrous election campaign, polled their […] Read more
First Nations work with China – Dialogue
THERE are historical similarities between citizens of China and North American Indians. This could help promote deals between First Nations and Chinese business people. This fall, I was among 21 Canadian Aboriginal representatives who spent two weeks touring China in an effort to develop business initiatives with China, which as we all know has the […] Read more
