I have had many different farmers comment on the potential impact of the Iceland volcano eruption on the weather patterns this year. Was there more of an impact than just cancelled flights in and out of Europe or has the extreme variable weather in 2010 been just a coincidence? Farmers love weather and drawing correlations… Read More
Category: Western Canada
There is never a shortage of issues in the cattle business. Since 2003 we have dealt a rising currency, export bans and struggles with boxed beef demand. On the bright side the supply equation looks to be bullish and demand for middle meat appears to be recovering. On the political side there has been some… Read More
How many coffee shops in Western Canada are talking about the fall weather. Will we get an early frost? Does late spring mean early fall? Can September be the hottest month of the year again? Weather is always something that occupies a farmers mind because the timing is so critical. For example, if we have… Read More
It always amazes me how two weeks can make such a difference in the outlook for an industry. Two weeks ago Anne and I talked about the nervousness of the cattle market based on a high dollar, high feed and price plateau. Now the dollar is lower and the US fat prices spiked $5 last… Read More
Recently the Canola Council of Canada hosted a combine clinic to help growers optimize the settings of their machines. Throw-over loss seems to be more of a serious issue than many growers want to discuss or admit. In this weeks episode of the Canola School we put together a single video getting commentary from four… Read More
One of the huge perks of this job is my ability to meet and interact with cool interesting people from across the country. I have had a chance to hear Jeffrey Simpson speak twice this summer. Jeffrey is the national affairs columnist at the Globe and Mail and also has received the Order of Canada… Read More
By Shaun Haney One of the things that I enjoy the most about my ability to travel across the country is the knowledge, opinions and perspectives that I get to gather from farmers from many different backgrounds. I hear many things from many people that are very intriguing, stimulating and incredibly thought provoking. I really… Read More
You cannot turn the TV on most nights during the nightly news without hearing some sort of commentary on the state of the Canadian economy. Agriculture is very reliant on the health of the consumer. Farmers are trying to decipher job reports, GDP growth, interest rates, CPI and a dozen other economic indicators. One of… Read More
To say that Travis Toews is willing to take on challenges is putting things mildly. In fact if I was him I would say goodbye to my cows back home and get the frequent flyer program revved up, especially if his reign as President of CCA is anything like his predecessors. Travis is the new… Read More
Last week at the international livestock congress I heard many speeches about the past, present and future of the canadian cattle industry. At the beginning of congress the Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development welcomed the delegates to Calgary and wished them the best at their conference. Due to the fact Mr. Hayden is… Read More