Manitoba Agriculture has released its 2025 cost of production analysis for crops, and as one would expect, the picture isn’t rosy. Saskatchewan Agriculture is expected to release its 2025 Crop Planning Guide shortly, and it will similarly show limited profit potential. In the Manitoba analysis, all 16 crops show a return over operating costs, but […] Read more
Tag Archives Kevin Hursh — page 4
Approach miracle product pitches with caution
It seems everywhere you turn, some miracle product is going to cure whatever ails your soil and crops. It’s more difficult than ever to know what works and what isn’t worth the money. Got salinity? Miracle products can now return that land to productivity. At least, those are the claims, even though the official agronomic […] Read more
Farm Land Security Board needs to do better
Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor has identified a number of shortcomings in how the Farm Land Security Board regulates the purchase of farmland by foreign, non-eligible entities. Unfortunately, rather than embracing the auditor’s recommendations, the newly re-elected Saskatchewan Party government seems oblivious to the concerns. Related story in this issue: Let’s start with a bit of history. […] Read more
Agfinity leaves wide swath of unpaid farmers
In early October, I wrote a column about a grain broker in a financial squeeze leaving an undetermined number of producers unpaid for grain deliveries made many months earlier. At the time, I didn’t name the broker as being Agfinity because the owner, Joseph Billett, seemed sincere in his efforts to work his way out […] Read more
Check out your geopolitical crystal ball
Over the next few months, a host of international actions could have unpleasant repercussions for Canadian agriculture. Seldom, if ever, have so many different threats come from outside our borders. China is investigating Canadian canola for dumping, a response to the 100 per cent duty the U.S. and Canada placed on Chinese electric vehicles. Perhaps […] Read more
Sure-profit cropping options hard to find
The years of no-brainer cropping options appear to have ended, at least for now. The growing season ahead doesn’t offer the certain profits of previous times. Weather and markets are unpredictable, but in recent years you could contract a profitable price on many crops and with correspondingly high crop insurance prices, you could go a […] Read more
Expect increased volatility with Trump’s return
What should Canadian agriculture expect from a Donald Trump presidency? There’s no shortage of opinions and analysis. Here’s what seems the most plausible. While the transition to Trump won’t officially happen until his inauguration on Jan. 20, many details of his intentions will be telegraphed in advance. As well, the team around him will become […] Read more
Ag should prepare for shifting political winds
This is being written one day ahead of Saskatchewan election results. My prediction, for what it’s worth, is an NDP win. If that’s the case, a lot of farm organizations are going to wish they had taken more opportunities to connect with the NDP while the party was in opposition. A year ago, the NDP […] Read more
Sales pitches on new varieties can be misleading
Harvest is barely complete and marketing campaigns are already underway to sell new and improved seed varieties for next year. Sales pitches naturally tend to emphasize positive varietal traits, while sometimes missing practicality and marketability. Saskatchewan Pulse Growers is promoting new varieties of lentils, field peas, chickpeas and fababeans. In many cases, producers have clung […] Read more
Producers urged to be vigilant when selling grain
A grain broker operating in Western Canada has hit a financial squeeze, and as a result, a number of producers are unpaid for grain deliveries made many months ago. The number of unpaid producers and the amounts owing are not public, but the situation raises a number of questions. When I heard about the issue, […] Read more
