Reading Time: 9 minutes Every farmer knows the truth of it. Canada’s farms are getting more and more different from each other, not less. East-west geography is to blame. So are different market cycles, like the way hogs and beef self-destructed while grains held firm. And of course a huge chunk is due to different marketing systems, like supply […] Read more
No Small Difference
FARMAGEDDON
Reading Time: 7 minutes By now we’ve all seen the reports and the newspaper stories. It doesn’t matter exactly which ones. They’re all more or less the same, starting with the “fact” that tens of billions of dollars of farm assets must somehow be transferred to the next generation of farm operators over the next few years. Is it […] Read more
Trading Places
Reading Time: 7 minutes A handful of companies still dominate the global grain trade. Chances are, you’re still selling to them too, either directly through a local elevator they own, or indirectly through the maze of marketing agreements that local buyers negotiate with them. But scratch that surface and you’ll find a sector that’s undergoing an enormous transformation — […] Read more
Trading Places – for Oct. 11, 2010
Reading Time: 7 minutes Ahandful of companies still dominate the global grain trade. Chances are, you re still selling to them too, either directly through a local elevator they own, or indirectly through the maze of marketing agreements that local buyers negotiate with them. But scratch that surface and you ll find a sector that s undergoing an enormous […] Read more
The BIG Picture – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 9 minutes Agriculture is changing. We all agree on that. But who has the road map? That’s the harder question. In fact, it may be the hardest question of all. Without doubt, there are opportunities ahead, and there are dangers too, and knowing where they might be hiding could be a massive advantage not only for your […] Read more
Will that be wheat or corn? Soybeans or canola? Farmers in Manitoba’s Red River Valley may have more opportunity than anywhere else in the country
Reading Time: 8 minutes Here they just call it The Valley. More properly it’s the Red River Valley, and the river itself is correctly known as the Red River of the North, to distinguish it from the Red River in Texas that’s famous from story and song. Probably you’ve heard of this Red River yourself — especially in the […] Read more
Sometimes, the best way to achieve your goals is to sell your business. For Trevor Thiessen (l), and Greg Holloway, engineering a friendly takeover by Novozymes is just the beginning
Reading Time: < 1 minute There s no question this is a company on the move. I mean, literally on the move. No one here is standing around, waiting to be told what to do. Instead, in this industrial park just north of Saskatoon, whether you re in the gleaming offices and high-tech labs out front or in the back […] Read more
AGbots – for Mar. 22, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes continued from previous story he airplane industry is already doing it. When those jets soar high over your farm, there’s almost never a human actually flying them. Nor is there an air traffic controller actually monitoring them. Instead the major operations — including altitude, air speed and overall course — are all the product of […] Read more
AGbots
Reading Time: 2 minutes By borrowing airline technology, tomorrow s farm equipment will get much, much smaller than you re planning for. And a lot smarter too The airplane industry is already doing it. When those jets soar high over your farm, there s almost never a human actually flying them. Nor is there an air traffic controller actually […] Read more
Down-Under cousins like Ross Johns may prove our top allies in the tough new world of global grain markets. Here’s how
Reading Time: 11 minutes Ross Johns remembers when the idea first occurred to him. It was in the heart of China about eight years ago. He was there on a trade mission, representing Australian farmers through his work as a director of ABB, the former Australian Barley Board. Late one afternoon, the Australian farmer and his colleagues happened on […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
