An extra requirement is coming for the AgriInvest program for 2025. Producers with allowable net sales of $1 million or more per year will require an environmental assessment to receive the matching government contribution. The change in AgriInvest came out of the federal/provincial/territorial agriculture ministers meeting more than two years ago. Little has been heard […] Read more
Tag Archives Kevin Hursh — page 5
Injuries, health problems worsen labour shortage
I texted a neighbour at the farm asking if he could help me out. We work back and forth a bit on various projects. “I have a buyer that wants two loads of maple peas next Tuesday, but I’m away next week,” I texted. “If I get the conveyor all set up, could you load […] Read more
Chickpea acres prepare to mount a comeback
With harvest in the home stretch in southern regions, thoughts turn to cropping plans for next year. In the typically drier brown and dark brown soil zones, more chickpeas will be seeded next spring. Chickpeas don’t get a lot of attention because they aren’t a widespread cropping choice. The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. will only […] Read more
Producer profitability wanes in the grain sector
Each year, every farm has successes and failures and grain prices always fluctuate, but the good times appear to be waning. We each play the hand we’re dealt and spend most of our time looking forward rather than back, but in most cases, profitability has eroded quite dramatically over the past several years. Perhaps some […] Read more
Higher yields offset by lower crop prices this year
You’d think higher yields would mean higher returns per acre. Unfortunately, data for Saskatchewan shows the benefit of this year’s higher crop yields is often negated by lower prices. Using Statistics Canada estimated yields and comparing them to the estimated yields from one year ago, all crops are showing a significant increase. It should be […] Read more
Some producers will again miss compensation
Another grain buyer has left farmers unpaid for grain deliveries. And yet again, some producers will be outside of the timelines required for compensation under the Canadian Grain Commission’s licencing and bonding program. This time it’s Purely Canada Foods with its Saskatchewan facilities in Avonlea, Kindersley and Lajord. Those in the grain trade are not […] Read more
Wanted: solution to country’s labour disruptions
In the end, even a Liberal government dedicated to the principle of collective bargaining couldn’t stand by and watch a railway strike/lockout inflict economic havoc across the country. Whether the government has the authority to impose binding arbitration without parliamentary approval is a question to be debated, but the importance of ending the work stoppage […] Read more
Rail disruption will tighten producers’ cash flow
Labour disruptions have threatened grain movement many times in the past. The difference this time is that a speedy resolution seems unlikely. With the cloud being cast over fall grain deliveries, producers will want to assess their cash flow needs. Rail movement was already slowing as the Aug. 22 strike/lockout deadline approached. Some grain buyers […] Read more
Grain freight rates are a hidden cost for farmers
When farmers discuss input costs, it’s usually about equipment, repairs, fertilizer, diesel fuel and crop protection products. One huge cost, grain freight rates, is seldom discussed because producers pay indirectly. Freight costs used to appear as a deduction on cash grain tickets. These days, the elevator companies pay the huge cost of grain movement by […] Read more
Big crop dwindles amid heat and lack of rain
It’s a classic example of counting your chickens before they hatch. The hot weather in July and corresponding lack of rain has lowered yield expectations in many regions. In my area of southwestern Saskatchewan, crops have been going backward for many weeks. While not abundant, rainfall had been timely and crops looked pretty good until […] Read more
