Hursh Comment

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 …

The noose continues to tighten around glyphosate as more companies refuse to purchase grain that has had a pre-harvest application. Three recent examples have materialized. These are in addition to the oat and pulse crop buyers that have been shunning crop treated with glyphosate for the past few years. Roquette, the company building a $400 …

A new religion is sweeping the world – the religion of climate change. Like many of the ancient religious dogmas, it relies more on faith than evidence and also like traditional religions, it runs the risk of becoming fanatical. For the firm believers, evidence of climate change devastation is everywhere. Every weather anomaly is now …

How many acres do you farm? It may seem like a straight-forward, natural question, but it isn’t always a comfortable question to answer. Plus the answer can be open to a lot of interpretation. If you engage in conversations at farm trade show booths talking to vendors of anything from agronomic services and products to …

Get ready for a heated debate over royalty payments on farm saved seed. This contentious issue will be a centre of attention for the Canadian grain sector over the winter. All the players in the seed industry make a strong case for why more funding is needed for wheat and other cereals and the same …

It has become fashionable to complain about the high price of farmland and how it’s difficult or even impossible for young people to get a start in farming these days. However, if you look at the selling price of older farm equipment, this is a great time to start farming. You can be very well …

Indian tariffs on pulse crops have received a great deal of attention. Less well known, but arguably more offside are the measures keeping Canadian durum out of Italy. Indian tariffs are blamed for decimating pulse prices in Canada, particularly for red lentils. Truth is, pulse exports had practically stalled before the tariffs were applied last …