Traders and analysts were taken aback by some of the key numbers in the crop production report from Statistics Canada released on Thursday morning. While the market was expecting a higher canola production estimate, it was not anticipating the major increase from the StatsCan estimate of 14.1 million metric tonnes in October to 15.6 million in… Read More
Author: Kelvin Heppner
Kelvin Heppner, field editor for RealAgriculture, has been reporting on Canadian agriculture since 2008(ish). When he's not working on a story, he's usually in a chicken barn or a field, as he also farms with his family near Altona, Manitoba.
Imagine it’s the year 2030. What will a typical Canadian farm look like? Will the logistical challenges on the Prairies have been solved? How much will farmland be worth? What kind of game-changers will there be that may have increased crop yields? How can you prepare your farm? Anybody can make predictions about the future,… Read More
Lower commodity prices will likely lead farmers to adopt technology and practices that maximize fertilizer efficacy, says the head of a North Dakota-based precision ag machinery manufacturer. Speaking at the AgriInnovation Forum in Winnipeg last week, Howard Dahl, president and CEO of Amity Technology, said he sees a period of tighter margins driving producers to try new… Read More
Need an excuse to take a trip to a warmer place this winter? Can it be justified as a field trip for the farm? Cold temperatures might be a good enough reason to head south, and maybe it’s easy for him to say because he’s newly retired, but the former CEO of the Canadian International Grains… Read More
Canada’s two major railways have changed they way they process requests for grain cars in Western Canada. To deter shippers from ordering more cars than they can handle, both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are capping the number of outstanding orders a grain shipper can have in their systems. As of September 14th, the total… Read More
Western Canadian farmers know all too well what kind of impact the logistical challenges of the last year had on local grain prices, but how did the rail backlog impact international customers? How concerned are they about the reliability of Canadian grain shipments? To get a feel for what overseas buyers are saying, I spoke… Read More
Is your farm in the realty business? Equity on most Canadian farms is generated in two ways — selling the proceeds from production and by owning property with increasing value. Speaking at the Agricultural Excellence Conference in Winnipeg last week, the head of Canada’s largest farmland investment company argued there are situations where farmers would benefit… Read More
Periods of conflict between family members will make or break a family farm. That’s why it’s important to address conflict like any other risk to a farm business, says a well-known farm family coach from Boissevain, Manitoba. Elaine Froese described the three C’s for managing conflict as part of her presentation at the Ag Excellence… Read More
It’s not often a farmer gets to show off — and explain — what’s happening in his wheat field on national television during primetime hours. Humphrey Banack of Round Hill, Alberta had the opportunity this fall when he hosted comedian Rick Mercer and his CBC camera crew for a day of combining wheat (if you… Read More
Whether it’s your favourite ag website, the radio or newspaper, Twitter, your area sales rep or the local ag extension office, farmers in Canada and most developed countries have many sources to turn to for expertise. Never mind scarcity, information overload is often a problem. But imagine farming without electricity, without a computer, without the… Read More
The idea that municipal, provincial and national boundaries should be ignored when managing water is gaining momentum in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northern North Dakota. Around 150 delegates representing farm groups, landowners, conservation organizations, scientists and governments met in Regina last week to discuss plans for the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative. “This type of approach, a basin-wide approach… Read More
So who’s going to buy CWB (formerly “the Canadian Wheat Board”)? And where’s the money for new elevators coming from? Will they become “just another grain company”? How will farmers benefit? These are all questions I’ve heard farmers asking each other during intermissions at hockey rinks, at coffee shops and on Twitter over the last… Read More
Corn and wheat futures moved higher, while soybean values dropped following the release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s November crop production and supply/demand estimates on Monday morning. The numbers were not as bearish as many traders and analysts were expecting, says Mike Krueger, president of The Money Farm, in the interview above. “People thought… Read More
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture has released a report outlining the quality profile of this year’s crop. Only nine percent of the province’s spring wheat crop is projected to be graded number 1 — well below the 10 year average of 39 percent. For winter wheat, only three percent is expected to grade as number 1, compared… Read More
Planting delays in Brazil due to dry conditions have provided some support to global oilseed markets over the last month or so, but it’s too early to be concerned about dryness. That’s according to Pedro Dejneka, managing partner with AGR Brasil — a unit of AgResource Company, who shared the South American market outlook at the Cereals… Read More