Farmers calling a bluff on trade disruptions, based on StatsCan seeding intention report

Opinion

The issue: Taking a look at Friday’s StatsCan report, it looks like Canadian farmers are calling the bet on geopolitical trade disruptions. It appears farmers essentially see existing and potential trade barriers as a bluff worth calling in favour of other factors. Some examples: Durum – Even though there has not been a load of durum shipped to Italy, our number one export market, since October, Western Canadian farmers intend to plant 11 percent more durum than 2017 at 5.78 million acres. Lentils and field peas – With Canada’s largest customer of pulse crops — India — attempting to boost…