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Ask a room filled with grain farmers if their costs are rising and most will reply in the affirmative. Some producers who track their financials very carefully will tell you that despite historically strong grain prices, margins are tight in their 2013 crop budgets. There’s a cost – price squeeze. But most of the traditional …

“Land prices are way too high, far beyond productive value.” How many times have you heard people say this or something like it? As Earl Smith of groPartners Farm and Land Management pointed out in a session at Crop Production Week in Saskatoon, this has always been true. Even when land prices were much lower, …

The number jumps off the page. Saskatchewan’s realized net farm income for 2011 is estimated by Statistics Canada at a record-shattering $2.8 billion. The previous record was in 2010 at nearly $1.8 billion. While Saskatchewan’s farm income has never been better, Alberta is struggling. The difference – Saskatchewan’s farm economy is dominated by grain, while …

As a consultant / journalist / farmer, I’ve offered lots of opinions over the years. Looking back, some have been spectacularly wrong. Farmers naturally want analysis of the current trends in the industry. But they also want to hear extrapolations in an attempt to understand how the future might unfold. In the late 90’s, before …

When you run the numbers, there are some surprises in the profitability of this year’s crops. Flax is more profitable than canola. And lentil returns are in the basement along with barley and oats. Every farm has different numbers – different yields, different costs and often a different selling price. But if you use aggregate …

Throughout the massive beef recall, the largest in Canadian history, XL Foods has had no face and therefore no soul. There has been no company official to face the media and answer questions, no one for the general public to identify with. It’s in sharp contrast to the strategy employed by Michael McCain during Maple …

It’s an exciting time for grain farmers on the Canadian Prairies. Most areas up here have a good crop coming along, while drought conditions across much of the U.S. are causing a dramatic increase in prices. We like to be cautious noting that the crop is a long way from the bin and that high …

It’s a volatile and unpredictable world. For agriculture, that means there’s big money to be made or lost. In recent years, grain prices have shown the ability to rise rapidly and fall back even faster, but the input side of the business is volatile as well. Just look at fertilizer prices. Urea, 46-0-0, has increased …

AgriInvest could be a casualty as the federal government looks for places to cut spending. This caution isn’t based on any inside knowledge of government decision making. It’s more a recognition that the program has bad optics and is difficult to defend. With decent grain prices, it doesn’t take a large farm to generate allowable …

For what it’s worth, here is my seeding / marketing plan for the upcoming growing season. Kabuli chickpeas are a given for me after excellent returns in 2011. I’ve locked in a price of 35 cents a pound for some new crop production. That’s far less than the prices received for last year’s crop, but …

The CWB believes it will be a significant player in the grain industry after August 1. Although details are still pending (specific agreements with grain handlers), CWB staff presented a refreshingly positive picture to nearly 200 farmers during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon. For years, single desk supporters have said that a CWB without its …

Crystal ball gazing is always wrought with dangers, but it’s easy to predict a turbulent year ahead in Western Canadian agriculture. Lots of ink spilled over the CWB changes. Suffice to say that the marketing change ahead will require many adjustments by farmers and the entire grain industry. Overall, we’re heading into a tougher grain …