Hursh Comment

Previously unimaginable, 550 to 600-pound steer calves seem destined to fetch over $2,000 each during the fall calf run. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, this newfound profitability in the beef sector is unlikely to reverse the steady erosion of cattle numbers in Western Canada. Even with heifer calf prices somewhat lower than steers, selling …

You’d think that with such a spindly crop, harvest would be fast and easy. Instead, for me at least, it’s been a season of fix and repair daily, if not hourly. We got a new to us combine late last fall and we kept the better of our two much older combines. What could go …

What can be done to help cattle producers facing another year of drought and serious feed shortages? The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association has held well attended meetings in Kindersley, Perdue, Cabri and Cadillac to address the issue. While drought also hurts grain producers, crop insurance is a significant economic backstop. With grain prices historically high, crop …

“How are your crops?” asked the retired school teacher, a smart, engaging man. “Really poor for the third year in a row,” I said, noting the area short of moisture was expanding and it wasn’t going to be a great crop for a lot of producers. “So, have farmers now started to believe in climate …

The lambda issue is likely to make liars out of a bunch of normally honest farmers. When a rule changes, you may not like it, but if there’s a logical reason for the rule change most people are likely to abide. On the registration change for the insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin, there’s an amazing lack of logic. …

The recently confirmed merger between Bunge and Viterra is a reminder of how times and attitudes have changed. The merger could be contingent on divestitures required by the competition bureau, but the idea of the two heavyweights joining forces isn’t creating much of a stir. I started as a wet-behind-the-ears agriculture reporter back in 1980 …

Would have, could have, should have, is about all you can say about the missed opportunity to capture some amazingly high canola prices. At the beginning of the year, the price expectation for the 2023 canola crop was around $19 a bushel. That’s what the futures market was indicating and that’s where crop insurance programs …

Statistics Canada has released reams of information related to farm income for 2021 and 2022. One of the major stories from the stats is how farm expenses have risen faster than farm income. However, combing through the numbers provides some other interesting insights. First of all, it’s tough to be farming in Newfoundland and Labrador, …

It’s one of the worst years for fertilizer logistics that John Bickner has seen and that says something considering he’s been in the trucking business for more than three decades. Bickner Trucking operates out of Vanguard in southwest Saskatchewan running a fleet of 50 to 60 trucks servicing an area all the way from North …

A shift is occurring in farm economics. Grain price prospects have weakened substantially while cattle prices are some of the highest ever. What can you realistically expect for a canola price in the fall? Based on the November futures, a cash price in the $15 a bushel range has been available for fall delivery. Historically, …

On one hand, the rising cost of buying and renting farmland is a good thing. On the other, it’s a festering sore spot within agriculture. The increasing cost of land acquisition is directly related to the profitability of farm operations. In the bad years from about 1983 to 1993, land prices often dropped year to …

The years ahead will see significant solar development. Unfortunately, most all those solar panels seem destined for prime farmland. What would you do if an Independent Power Provider (IPP) offered you $300 or even $400 an acre each year for the next 25 years to rent a half section or even a full section of …