Reading Time: 4 minutes As harvest continued late into this fall, Prairie grain buyers continued to sort out what they would pay for this year’s crop. “Currently, grain company discounts and premiums for grade and protein are variable and changing almost daily as they try to determine what they can pay for these grains, what they will be able […] Read more
What to expect from grain companies premiums and discounts
Prices for different grades and protein levels are likely to vary by region throughout the crop year
Marketing strategies for your 2019 crop
A different approach is needed for this year’s lower-quality harvest
Reading Time: 3 minutes After several years of high-quality crops across most of the Prairies, this fall’s poor harvesting conditions mean many farmers have the unenviable task of trying to unload low-grade cereals. “This year we’re going to be seeing the bulk of the (wheat) crop in the lower grades, No. 3s or feed,” says MarketsFarm analyst Bruce Burnett. […] Read more
Room to grow organic
Farmers are upping their organic output, but they’re still a long way from meeting the demand of the two-thirds of Canadians who sometimes or always shop for organic
Reading Time: 5 minutes Led by Millennial buyers, demand for organic food across Canada is growing robustly. Demand is surging ahead of domestic production, which has been growing but not nearly fast enough to keep up. “Demand is definitely outpacing supply,” says Jill Guerra, research and special projects co-ordinator for Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA). “We need more producers […] Read more
Cleaning up the leftovers
AAFC has prepared a comprehensive manual on how to use “biobeds” to process pesticide sprayer rinsate
Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite careful calculation to mix just the right amount of pesticide to cover a field, there’s sometimes that little bit left over, or the rinsate which gets dumped onto a grassy or non-crop area, which can harm the environment. Up to 80 per cent of contaminants found in water bodies trace back to farms, according […] Read more
Black swans
What will it take to knock Canada’s farmland market out of its holding pattern?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian dollar “Excluding an extraordinary shock to production or commodity prices, a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar would have the biggest impact on the supply of farmland available for sale,” says Saskatchewan realtor Tim Hammond. A weak Canadian dollar is beneficial overall to Canadian farmers as they export the majority of […] Read more
Less of the same
Realtors report farm sales are slowing and that prices are stabilizing, which may be best for everyone
Reading Time: 5 minutes Barring major shocks to the agriculture sector, the outlook is for continued strong farmland values and tight farmland availability in Canada for the foreseeable future. “By and large, we see a very healthy, very robust farmland market out there, and it seems to be continuing,” says Tom Eisenhauer, president and CEO of Toronto-based Bonnefield, Canada’s […] Read more
If you’re not happy with your purchase
All three Prairie provinces have protection for farm equipment purchasers, but the provisions differ
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve taken parts or equipment home but they’re not working as promised, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta all have farm implement acts providing for the dealer to repair or replace them. But while the three provinces have some similar protections, they also differ significantly. All deal with the sale, lease and lease-purchase of farm equipment […] Read more
Is the class half full or half empty?
Just under half of Canada’s farmers are committed to lifelong learning. Here’s how it makes a difference
Reading Time: 5 minutes “When the human mind is stretched, it never returns to its original size — similar to most new underpants.” That’s a quote from the International Farm Management Congress in Scotland last year, and it’s one that Farm Management Canada (FMC) executive director Heather Watson uses to stress the enduring impact of continuous lifelong learning. “The […] Read more
How we market today
Smart young Millennials are bringing an incredible new level of intelligence and energy to commodity marketing on a growing number of Canada’s farms. But not on all
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s obvious that today’s farmers have upped their financial management game, working with professionals including accountants and lawyers to build on and execute plans that are miles more sophisticated than ever before. But when it comes to marketing, are our farmers as good at roping in top advice? It depends on the farm, of course, […] Read more
That ugly bottom third
Are farms still selling two-thirds of their crops at the worst market prices?
Reading Time: 5 minutes At the very least, the old chestnut that farmers sell two-thirds of their crops is the bottom third of the market does stick in the memory. But is it accurate? Um… maybe. There isn’t much hard proof either way, and as for anecdotal evidence, it seems to depend on who you talk to, which may […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
