Hursh Comment

It was May 9 and we were hoping to finish seeding chickpeas. The Environment Canada forecast was calling for 30 per cent chance of showers. Surprisingly, showers did materialize and it became too wet to complete the field. Previously, forecasts for rain had mostly evaporated. This time, showers turned to light rain and then moderate …

Of all the problems facing this troubled world, climate change gets far more attention than warranted. This is particularly true of the Trudeau Liberals where almost every initiative is viewed through a climate change lens. Doomsday forecasts on climate change have missed the mark for decades, but we’re still being told it’s a climate emergency. …

Well, I was wrong. In this column back in early April, I predicted a rise in canola acreage given its strong new crop prices and superior crop insurance coverage. That isn’t what farmers told Statistics Canada for the seeding intentions report released April 26. Stats Can has canola acreage down 7 per cent compared to …

Farm Credit Canada has come out with an interesting analysis of the rent to price ratio for farmland across the country. Authored by Lyne Michaud, a senior analyst of valuation at FCC, the analysis uses cash rental rates in each province “for specific farmland benchmarks.” When combined with their farmland values report, it provides a …

AgriInvest, AgriStability and the Advance Payments Program all have limits/maximums/caps. The one program that doesn’t is crop insurance. Should crop insurance (AgriInsurance) have a cap? AgriInvest allows a farmer to invest one per cent of allowable net sales and have that amount matched by government with $1.0 million in allowable net sales being the cap. …

According to one geopolitical analyst, the war in Ukraine is going to have long-lasting and wide-ranging ramifications for agriculture. Peter Ziehan gave a recent online presentation for Farm Credit Services of America and if Ziehan is correct, turbulent times are ahead. The world’s number one wheat exporter has invaded the world’s number four wheat exporter …

It’s the end of March and many of the durum crops are starting to head out. Where am I? I’ve heard about desert durum, but this is the first time I’ve seen it. As I write this, I’m in Yuma, Arizona. The durum, often used as a rotational crop after growing vegetables, looks excellent. Of …

C It’s difficult for other crops to match the potential profitability of canola and for that reason it’s reasonable to expect significantly more canola acres in Western Canada this year. For its part, the market analysis group of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is sticking with its prediction of a 3 per cent decline in Prairie …

In the short term, the Russian invasion of Ukraine changes the world supply and trade flows of grain, fertilizer and fuel. In the medium to long run, many other changes are likely, many of which will directly affect agriculture. Even with the most optimistic scenarios, the ramifications of the war and all its ripple effects …

If you ask most members of the general public about this year’s record heat and drought across the Prairies, they’ll accept the idea that it’s linked to climate change. After all, that’s what the scientists, activists and media say at every opportunity. However, there are many examples of muddled thinking on the whole climate change …

Maybe it’s the sky high price of canola. Maybe it’s the tightening stocks to use ratio on many commodities. Maybe it’s all the uncertainty in a pandemic-stricken world. Whatever the reason or reasons, new crop production contracts are more widely available than usual for this time of year and some are worthy of consideration. Saskatoon’s …

The Liberal government’s new climate plan boasts that most Canadian will receive more in rebates than they pay in additional carbon tax, but nothing in the plan explains how Canada’s export-reliant industries are supposed to remain competitive. Farm fuel is exempt from the carbon tax and one assumes that will continue to be the case …