Last week while I was in Edmonton I listened to Stan Blade, Executive Director of the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), talk about where Alberta is focusing cereal research in the long term. Currently in Alberta the three biggest products in terms of value are beef (3.104 billion), canola (1.216 billion) and wheat ( 1.251… Read More
I just listened to Bill Lapp, an economist with Advanced Economic Solutions speak about the outlook for commodities in Edmonton. Lapp was very interesting, candid and provided great insight into the commodity market. The key points that Lapp focused on were: Brazil, Russia, India and China have led the world growth over the last 10… Read More
Yesterday, Rick Cassson, MP Lethbridge hosted Federal Agricultural Minister, Gerry Ritz in Lethbridge. On top of serving at the Farm Credit Canada Breakfast at Ag Expo and meeting with a farmer round table, Ritz also announced 15.5 million in funding for the Canadian Triticale Biorefiniery Initiative. I participated in the farmer round table where all twenty of the… Read More
I have no problem debating with the NFU over whether or not the Competition Bureau should approve the sale of Lakeside to XL. I definitely have my opinions on it and so does the NFU but boy have they wore out their welcome by spending collaborative time with R-Calf. From the moment that the story… Read More
Today, President Obama visits Canada and sits down with Prime Minister Harper. Currently, the Democrats are using the poor economy as an excuse to push their protectionist agenda forward. Canada and Mexico need to be very aware of what is transpiring and how it will affect agriculture in the future. Please do not think that… Read More
While looking at fields on a country back road we spotted a silage pit. Immediately I was interested because of the look of the pit. It was made very low to the ground due to small equipment owned by the farmer. The other key characteristic was that the pit was covered in dirt and plastic and not tires. The dirt… Read More
I will be in Chile until February 14th. I am going to try and post to the blog as much as I can while I am here but I will probably be able to add the majority of the content after I get back. So far on my trip I have toured several canola fields… Read More
The final speaker of the day at the Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge was Melanie Mainquist of Cargill Meat Solutions in Guelph. Melanie spoke about the real beef consumer, a fictitious character named Zoe. Zoe is not unusual or weird, she is real for the majority of female consumers. She eats beef once to twice a… Read More
At the Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge yesterday, Rick Paskal, Chairman of Canada Gold Beef discussed the need and benefits of a truly Canadian branded beef product. Rick passionately told the crowd how Canada Gold is trying to change the way money is distributed through the value chain. The key point being to make sure that… Read More
Larry Hicks of Cattlehedging.com was one of the keynote speakers at the Tiffin Conference yesterday in Lethbridge. Larry spoke about the necessity of risk management in the beef business. Larry very clearly outlined what hedging is and that there is much more involved than calling your broker to buy or sell futures contracts. He emphasized… Read More
Alberta Agriculture Deputy Minister, John Knapp, spoke to producers about how Alberta Agriculture is putting a strategy in place to reconnect with rural Alberta and help to enable success for members of the livestock value chain. Two examples that he gave were: Creating an irrigation department that focuses on improving the efficiency of water application… Read More
John Scott, President, Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, spoke on the grocery market this morning in Lethbridge Alberta at the Tiffin Conference. John emphasized that grocers are trying to “be something” to the consumer. He emphasized that consumers are going to different stores to get different products. When I think my families purchasing habits we… Read More
It is sad but so true. The graph to the left not only describes what has happened to the grain markets but also mysteriously looks like a Christmas tree. I found this picture at the blog Eds World: Grain Marketing. As Ed describes in the blog, he is not sure if he should laugh or cry…. Read More
According to a press release from Tyson Foods this morning, President and CEO Dick Bond is leaving the company effective immediately. According to Reuters, Leland Tollett who was the chairman and CEO from 1995 to 1998, will resume the post until a replacement is found. By revenue Tyson is the largest processor of protein in… Read More
Last week, Mexico cut off the imports of US pork and beef from 30 US plants owned by Tyson, Smithfield Foods, JBS and Cargill. This is in addition to Mexico joining Canada on December 19th to file a complaint with the WTO regarding COOL. Reportedly, the ban had to do with technical and sanitary issues… Read More