Opinions

A recent peer-reviewed study revealed that Canadian dairy farms dispose of between 600 million to one billion liters of milk on-farm annually. This staggering waste, which should be inconceivable under a supply management system designed to balance production and demand, has brought renewed attention to the long-standing debate over the legalization of raw milk sales. […]

November 7, 1885, a historic day in Canada’s economic development with the momentous completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), marked by the driving of the last spike. This pivotal event not only symbolized the physical unification of the country but also ignited a tradition of profitable railways lobbying for governmental support that has persisted […]

With a potential labour disruption on both major railways starting August 22, a cloud has been cast over fall grain deliveries. Hopefully, a strike or lockout does not occur on August 22, but at this point it doesn’t look promising. Both sides in the dispute are reported to be far apart. Grain buyers are already […]

I don’t claim to be a market analyst, just an analyst of analysts. I follow several market commentaries quite closely and have a few observations about which crops seem to have upside market potential and which ones don’t. Wheat and durum prices have diverged and this could continue. Wheat prices have been steady to softer […]

As I combined a thin, low-yielding field of mustard, a call came from my spouse/office manager. Amongst her information to pass along was the arrival of the annual bill from Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation. “How much does SCIC want?” I asked. “It’s pretty big,” she said, quoting the amount. “No, no, that must be the […]

What can be done to help cattle producers facing another year of drought and serious feed shortages? The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association has held well attended meetings in Kindersley, Perdue, Cabri and Cadillac to address the issue. I attended the meeting in my hometown of Cabri and I was impressed by how well the town hall […]

It’s back to the future. Lawrence MacAulay has returned as federal agriculture minister. Despite the warm words of welcome from farm organizations across the country, I suspect the actual response was surprise followed by a collective groan. No farm organization wants to poison their relationship with the old/new agriculture minister by saying what they really […]

I can’t keep up with all the new products being offered to farmers often from companies new to Canada. Some of the products are definitely in the miracle crop cure category and are a big waste of money. Others may have merit in certain circumstances. A few may be great innovations on the verge of […]