Hursh Comment

What a waste. The seeded acreage report released yesterday by Statistics Canada has almost no value. More than 7,500 Saskatchewan farmers were surveyed for the report, but the survey took place from May 25 to June 3. At the time, seeding was 67 per cent complete and Stats Can just assumed that farmers would end …

Most producers in Saskatchewan are unaware that the province has passed Bill 126 which sets the stage for carbon credit trading. Unfortunately, exactly what that will mean for farmers remains unclear at this point. In some other jurisdictions around the world, governments are providing clear benefits to agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Brazil, …

I had a heated discussion yesterday with a producer from east central Saskatchewan. He only got 25 per cent of his crop seeded and he supports the idea of increasing the Unseeded Acreage Payment to $100 an acre. The less than $50 an acre currently available under crop insurance is going to leave him in …

Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale is trying to get legislation passed that would give farmers more control over the Canadian Wheat Board. Goodale was the Minister Responsible for the CWB for many years and he brought in sweeping changes that were meant to make farmers the masters of the CWB’s destiny. However, recent court decisions …

There is no magic wand that governments can wave to fix all the problems created by the abnormal weather this spring. The AgriRecovery program isn’t much better than all the ad hoc programs governments have invented over the years, because AgriRecovery seems to have no set parameters. However, there are some special problems that have …

If the weather forecasts are close to being correct, flooding concerns are going to get worse before they get better. The weather gurus could see this big weather system developing for days and they’ve been in agreement that it’s going to drop a lot of rain. It’s rare to see such widespread heavy rainfall warnings. …

The National Farmers Union is calling for a full $50 an acre payment on all unseeded acres and an additional $50 an acre top-up payment. The top-up would be limited to 2,000 acres per farm. The NFU is correct when it says that no farmer is going to receive the full $50 an acre currently …

All the unseeded acreage coupled with concerns about overall production levels is shaking up some of the markets. Canola has strengthened to the $9 a bushel range. With canola being short millions of acres, the domestic crushing plants, including the two new ones in Yorkton, must be wondering where they’re going to find enough product …

It’s ironic, but some producers in the extremely wet areas may end up with an income tax problem this year. Here’s why. In good years, producers typically defer income on grain sales. A lot of income was deferred into 2010. Many of the inputs for this year will have been purchased and expensed in 2009. …

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture is estimating seeding progress at 70 per cent. That means more than nine million acres of intended acreage has not been seeded in the province. In the northeast and east central regions, only about half of the crop has been -planted. In some localized areas, the vast majority of cropland …

Unseeded acreage is destined to become a political football. A growing number of rural municipalities are declaring themselves agricultural disaster areas. NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter is currently touring some of the hardest hit regions. There are already calls for the federal and provincial governments to respond to this unprecedented situation, but it’s difficult to see …

The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association has sent out a news release saying what many producers have been thinking – the so-called AgriRecovery program needs established consistent guidelines. The MCPA lobbied both the Manitoba and federal governments for an AgriRecovery program for cattle producers in the southwest corner of that province due to extreme drought conditions. …