Reading Time: 4 minutes Finding a new use for any product will make its price go up. That’s just what ethanol has done, and grain producers especially in the U.S. are currently cashing in. University of Missouri economist Ron Plain predicts that because of ethanol, U.S. corn prices will average over $4 per bushel for the foreseeable future. Plain […] Read more
Are You Better Off?
Cross-Border Croppers
Reading Time: 7 minutes Sometimes you just don’t know where a thing is going to end up. When Richard and Robert Reesor started their sweet-corn business over 20 years ago, it wasn’t really a business at all. It was just a few acres along the road out front, plus a roadside stand and two brothers putting themselves through school. […] Read more
“Strategically Assertive”
Reading Time: < 1 minute To my mind, the thing that differentiates farmers such as the Reesors is attitude and aspiration. Attitudes determine how we see the world around us and what this represents in terms of opportunities and challenges. It also determines how people use their present skills, and what skills they seek to acquire. Attitude also determines who, […] Read more
The Boom In Succession
Reading Time: 10 minutes Meet The Family It’s one thing to know you need to do a better job communicating. But how do you actually get started? When I ask her to tell me a skill that families need to manage succession, Tamara Fraser’s answer is researched and personal: “Communication is the most important thing.” Fraser studied farm succession […] Read more
The New Oil
Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers in southern Alberta have always talked about water as the fuel that powers the quality, quantity and diversity of their crops. Now, however, competition is heating up for water. Towns, businesses and industries all want more, and in many cases they’re ready to pay for it. Water isn’t just a crop input anymore. It’s […] Read more
On Camera
Reading Time: 9 minutes In The Holland Marsh North Of Toronto, Jamie Reaume And The Area’s Vegetable Farmers Are Learning That Becoming A Media Darling Is A Full-Time Job. But, Says Reaume, It’s Worth It I’m doing a television show right now,” Jamie Reaume says over the phone. “And I’m filming tomorrow as well.” Then, Reaume suggests, why don’t […] Read more
The Marketing Puzzle
Reading Time: < 1 minute A call, a put, a naked writer. At-the-money, in-the-money, out-of-the-money. It’s enough to make you think you’re locked inside a jigsaw puzzle where none of the pieces fit. In fact, though, if you go to some online dictionaries of grain marketing terms, you’ll find these are a mere handful of the sub-categories listed for just […] Read more
Field Team
Reading Time: 6 minutes As if marketing isn’t complex enough already, Ryan and Lauren Maurer have injected two extra complications. Their farm is above average in size, with 11,000 acres based at Grenfell, an hour and a half east of Regina. Plus, they grow and have to market a wide variety of commodities, including grains, pulses, oilseeds and niche […] Read more
Talk It Up
Reading Time: 3 minutes Gilbert Ferré grows 2,500 acres of wheat, barley, oats, canola and peas in the Zenon Park area of northeastern Saskatchewan. His son Nicolas farms with him, much as Gilbert farmed with his own father when he started out in 1974. Now, with years of experience behind him, Ferré doesn’t hesitate when asked what marketing advice […] 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
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
