The Triffid flax export issue with Europe was a major story of 2010. All stakeholders in the flax value chain were impacted with great severity. Farmers couldn’t move inventory, prices plummeted, and exporters had cargo in limbo. The finger pointing was intense as everyone searched for the reasons that the previously approved trait had worked… Read More
Category: Crop Production
There are lot of choices for farmers this year which is creating a significant battle for acres, even amongst the special crop acres. Yellow and green peas are not one of the true sexy selections in comparison to canola but are still an option for farmers looking to diversify the rotation. With all the focus… Read More
The storage of your crop is one of the most important steps in the cropping cycle but it is one that is quite often mismanaged and not properly executed. Every farmer has a part of a bin before no matter good of a farmer you are. At the Southwest Agricultural conference Helmut Spieser, OMAFRA talked… Read More
With the pricing advantages for canola and lentils right now in the prairies, many growers are moving to tighter and tighter crop rotations. These tighter rotations include lentils more often and the exclusion of cereals in a canola lentil rotation. This is similar to the exclusion of wheat in corn soybean rotations in Ontario…. Read More
Is there anything more exciting than a new USDA report? With the increased interest in commodities USDA reports have become like the new gambling lines coming out for Superbowl weekend. The hype is high and everyone has an angle that they play. The markets moved huge today as a result of the report from the… Read More
Spring is a very hectic time for farmers. As farmers know there are time on seed restrictions for inoculants. We have all been through the scenario of applying inoculants to your soybeans in the morning and by the afternoon it is pouring rain. As you can imagine this can be very stressful when you use… Read More
Can you imagine 300 bushel corn? I asked an industry person this question this week and he said, “I didn’t think that 200 bushel corn was possible.” After being at the South West Ag conference this week, it might surprise you that all the discussed yield increase is not just in genetic advancements. Several different… Read More
Have you ever heard the saying that information is power? Having information at your fingertips when you ned to make very important business decisions is critical to the success of your farm or ag-business. With the increase in crop protection product skews and the introduction of generics into the marketplace, it is more challenging than… Read More
Agricultural commodities had a great run in 2010. One has to wonder though if there is any opportunity for things to reverse downward just like it did two years ago as we hit July. Some people like Ron Frost believe that we may have reached a new price plateau. Other market analysts like Moe Agostino… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Board election results are in and we didn’t even need a drum roll. The election was quiet before hand and even quieter after the results. Is there anything to take away from this election of the CWB? Was this election as boring as it seemed and will voter eligibility changes come next?… Read More
Last weekend I was at a shop party with many of my neighbours in Picture Butte. Get a bunch of farmers, ranchers and feedyard owners together and what else is there to talk about other than grain prices and hockey. Barley was definitely the topic of discussion at several tables. For me its very interesting… Read More
In November Syngenta celebrated its 10 year anniversary. I’ve been President for nine of those years, and have seen first hand the rapid pace of change taking place across the agricultural landscape in Canada. And change, while often feared, can be a good thing – it can bring with it opportunity. Since 2000, the Canadian… Read More
In Western Canada, canola is the talk of the town at every coffee shop. Farmers are booking canola seed at a rapid pace to ensure they have seed to plant in 2011. It would be even more interesting to know for the seed that has been bought, has a higher amount of the commodity crop… Read More
Across North America everyone is talking about the bullish tone of corn and soybeans. Is wheat going to be the weaker sister in 2011? How much higher will the wheat price have to go to buy some acres back from corn, soybeans, canola and lentils. Some farmers and analysts are even saying that the attention… Read More
Corn is the story that keeps on telling. With USDA revising yields and ending stocks lower in the US, the farmers with decent yields have enjoyed some great returns this year. I have even seen some corn acre forecasts for 2011 being discussed on CNBC’s Squawk Box. When there is this much hype and… Read More