Predicting the future is wrought with pitfalls because you don’t know what you don’t know. However, a couple of major developments will have wide-ranging impacts across the agriculture sector. Let’s deal first with the increased value of the Canadian dollar. At 80 cents, it isn’t high by historical standards, but it has strengthened dramatically in […] Read more
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Drought, loonie major ag issues this summer
Is all organic food really organic? Maybe not
Almost all organic food in Alberta is legitimately organic, but there’s a chance that’s not the case for organic produce, meat or grain sold by farmers directly to consumers. The Alberta government has no legislation requiring organic food to be certified if it is produced and sold within the province. “Without these (provincial) regulations right […] Read more
Silver lining to smaller crops: less off-combine selling
Farmers probably won’t race down the gravel roads of Western Canada to dump off-the-combine crop into the elevator system. That’s one of the few silver linings to the cloudy situation that so many Prairie farmers face — smaller-than-expected crops and adequate bin space are reducing the need to move crop fast. “People having to sell […] Read more
Speculation taking back seat to commercial realities
This summer’s spring wheat rally has been stunning and exciting, especially if you are a farmer who has some of the crop in the bin or a good crop in the field. It’s more bittersweet if you have a drought-ravaged crop with poor prospects. It’s also been a nostalgic time for veteran crop market watchers […] Read more
Japan hikes tariffs on beef
Japan hiked tariffs on frozen beef imports from Canada, the United States and other counties July 28. The tariff rises to 50 percent from 38.5 percent, until next March, Japan’s Ministry of Finance said. The tariff hike is a “safeguard” mechanism to protect domestic farmers. It is the first time it has been triggered since […] Read more
Nitrogen injector lives up to the hype
Marty Jesperson has used an Exactrix TAPPS NH3 injection system on his Taber, Alta., farm for the past seven years and says it’s well worth the extra investment. Jesperson bought the TAPPS kit from Exactrix and fabricated the rest of the machine himself, eventually ending up with a triple injection system to handle anhydrous, adenosine […] Read more
Lost generation of farmers becomes apparent
ag census Farmers are older than they once were. It’s an obvious point, but in this case it appears, from the data, that the lost generations of prairie farms are starting to turn up missing from the middle years. The Canadian Census of Agriculture data for 2016 shows producers older than 55 are growing in […] Read more
Canada to modernize statistics agency, data collection
OTTAWA (Reuters) — The federal government plans to modernize Statistics Canada, including identifying new ways of collecting data and making it easier for people and businesses to find and use the information. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told business leaders at an Environics Analytics event in Toronto that Canada wants to become a leader in an […] Read more
U.K. dairy sector nervous over Brexit impact on ag policy
EDMONTON — As the United Kingdom negotiates to leave the European Union, uncertainty is a new reality for farmers. “We are not quite sure how policy is going to work,” said Judith Bryans, executive director of Dairy U.K. “The (European Union) position is not willing to discuss anything on trade until certain aspects of the […] Read more
Alberta bears brunt of hail damage
The heat of July has spawned numerous hailstorms across the Prairies, with Alberta recording the highest number of storms and Manitoba relatively unscathed. The Canadian Crop Hail Association said in its July report that the few storms experienced in all three prairie provinces have produced little rain, but crops in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan […] Read more
