The exodus of young people from the farm seems to have tapered off as, among other things, prices and trade conditions improved and farmers diversified. But today, what factors are primarily responsible for keeping young farmers on their land? To what extend do cultural, societal and emotional matters figure in? And if those matters have… Read more »
Category: United States
Limiting harm — This Week in the Grain Market
Grain prices all headed lower this week as beneficial rains and slower bullish headlines pushed more profit-taking action in the markets. Canola traded sideways for the week but did drop down to $492 CAD / MT before closing at nearly $507 on the November contract. Soybeans acted similarly, only losing 0.1% whereas its acreage competitor,… Read more »
NCBA confident NAFTA 2.0 will be good for beef industry
With the NAFTA renegotiations starting this week, officials with the U.S. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) were in Calgary for the Canadian Beef Industry Conference, showing their support for the relationship between the two countries. Representatives from both the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and NCBA plan on heading to Washington for the anticipating beginning of the… Read more »
“This is why you play the games” — John Masswohl on the start of NAFTA talks
Trade and market access are always major topics at cattle industry meetings, but with the renegotiation of NAFTA becoming reality, there was a little extra emphasis on the politics of trade this week at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary. If there were any questions about how unified cattle producer groups from Canada, the… Read more »
Why the U.S. dairy industry is demanding more access to Canada — Mike Opperman
Canada has its sacred cow with milk. That’s well known, but what about the U.S. point of view? Why’s the American dairy industry so set on at least cracking the pillars of Canada’s dairy supply management? The U.S. dairy market is over supplied, and boosting export demand is a solution. It’s very similar to how… Read more »
Soybean School: Preventing those yellow patches next year
Most of the yellow patches in soybean fields in Western Canada and the northern U.S. have disappeared as the plants have recovered, or turned necrotic and died, but one of the big questions heading into harvest is: what toll did widespread issues with iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) earlier in the season take on yields? The… Read more »
U.S. dairy industry rejects Canada’s version of dairy trade story
As NAFTA negotiations begin on Wednesday, there’s no question dairy is one of the few agricultural issues where there’s a serious conflict between Canadian and American objectives. On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland released Canada’s list of demands, with protection of supply management for dairy and poultry on the list. Freeland made it clear… Read more »
Knowing your variety helps avoid ‘gnarly barley’
Cereal variety trials typically give researchers great insight into yield, disease tolerance, standability and a host of management considerations to help growers pick the right variety for their fields. In this year’s Ontario Spring Cereal Performance Trials, researchers are also getting a good look at the impact herbicide choices can have on cereals. In this… Read more »
Echoes in the Distance — This week in the grain market
Grain markets sold off this past week as the USDA came out with a surprisingly bearish report of world agricultural supply and demand estimates. Instead of the roughly 166 bushel per acre US corn yield that market was expecting, the USDA came out with 169.5. That’s just a 1.2 bushel drop from the previous estimate… Read more »
Is Canada dragging its feet on TPP?
Canada’s heading into the NAFTA renegotiation next week, but a deal that hasn’t been discussed a lot lately is the Trans-Pacific Partnership — and why is that? The U.S. pulled out of TPP and left eleven remaining countries. Canada has participated in all of the meetings post-U.S. pulling out. The Canadian govenrment has provided a… Read more »
MYFB — Ep. 27: The younger partner’s perspective on succession
Many times we look at farm succession from a very holistic point of view, through a lens focused on the overall process and all the people involved. But this can make things very complicated. Sometimes we need to look at one generation at a time. What are their concerns/desires/needs in this process? In this Mind Your… Read more »
ATV safety — do you wear a helmet on the farm?
When people go trail riding or use their ATV for recreational use, wearing a helmet is something that most don’t blink an eye to. They do it with no questions asked. So why is it when we use them around the farm, we hop on the quad at the same speeds, helmet-less, without thinking twice?… Read more »
August USDA report makes analysts shake their heads
The condition of the United States corn and soybean crop drives much of the sentiment on agricultural commodities. The weather stress of 2017 has created much discussion among farmers and analysts that the U.S. crop will be lower than trend line yield. Apparently the USDA does not agree with farmers or market analysts. The USDA… Read more »
DuPont buying Granular farm management software provider
DuPont is bolstering its presence in digital ag services, announcing a deal on Wednesday to acquire San Francisco-based Granular, Inc. Started in 2014, Granular provides software and analytic tools focused on improving farm efficiency and profitability, as well as operating a farmland real estate website. “This acquisition is an important component of our commitment to… Read more »
More pieces needed to solve dicamba drift puzzle
As the dicamba drift situation unfolds in soybean growing areas of North America, with millions of acres affected, there are some serious questions that will need to be answered in the coming months. How extensive was the damage? What were the factors that led to dicamba herbicide ending up in places where it wasn’t supposed… Read more »