Reading Time: 7 minutes In the space of a few years, soybeans on the eastern Prairies have gone from an experimental crop to a standard in the rotation, but there’s still that lingering thought that soybeans are a sensitive short-season crop and you need to get them in early to avoid fall frost. But how early? And what about […] Read more
Check the calendar, or the thermometer when deciding to plant soybeans?
Selecting the right soybean variety for the area is the best strategy for avoiding frost damage at either end of the season
Prairie crop insurance rundown 2019
Despite some problems last year, good yields in previous years have allowed lower premiums or more coverage
Reading Time: 6 minutes There’s good news on crop insurance for Prairie farmers this year — most premiums are down for 2019. Details were announced by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba officials earlier this year. Here’s the rundown: Alberta On March 11, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier and Steve Blakely, CEO of Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), […] Read more
Trump budget proposes steep subsidy cuts to U.S. farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget on Monday proposed a 15 per cent cut for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling its subsidies to farmers “overly generous” at a time when they are going through the worst crisis in decades because of depressed commodity prices and Trump’s trade tariffs. The Republican […] Read more
Saskatchewan offers up corn rainfall insurance plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s crop insurance offerings for 2019 will include a new program allowing corn growers to insure against a substantial drop in moisture. The provincial and federal government on Feb. 26 rolled out Saskatchewan’s 2019 crop insurance program, in which coverage levels on average are to reach a record $230 per acre, up from $216 last […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Fewer U.S. acres likely due to surplus
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Large crops followed by poor export demand have led to burdensome supplies and cut into pulse prices in the U.S., which should cut into acreage ideas for peas, lentils and chickpeas in 2019, an industry official says. “With the trade issues we’re facing right now, we have quite a surplus,” said Shannon […] Read more
U.S. House clears farm bill, with major food stamps changes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a massive Republican farm bill with changes to the government food stamps program that make it unlikely to become law in this form. The Senate is considering its own farm bill with no major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) used […] Read more
Saskatchewan pulls sales tax off farm insurance
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s provincial government has reinstated a provincial sales tax (PST) exemption for agriculture, health and life insurance premiums. Premier Scott Moe on Monday announced the exemption will take effect retroactive to Aug. 1 last year, when the PST was first applied to insurance. The province said the exemption will include PST on premiums paid for […] Read more
Farmers Edge to use data to edge into insurance sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers Edge has signed a four-year agreement with global reinsurance company PartnerRe to bring precision farming technology together with ag insurance. Under the agreement announced this week, the two companies plan to work together to develop new insurance products for the agricultural market. While Canadian farmers have access to government-run, subsidized crop insurance programs, as […] Read more
Hot fall pulls Ontario corn yields above average
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ontario’s corn crop yielded better than expected, at 184 bushels per acre average, while soybeans were closer to their 10-year average at 44 bushels per acre, according to Agricorp. Why it matters: The provincial crop insurance agency has some of the most solid crop production numbers in Ontario, as its members have to report their […] Read more
Risk warning
Inside the campaign to get better risk management programs for Canada’s farmers
Reading Time: 8 minutes Ask Keith Currie where the biggest risk lies, and he’ll point to the sky. “We’re seeing much more severe weather systems, whether it’s cold snaps, dry snaps, wet snaps. The weather patterns are moving differently,” says Currie, who grows hay and sweet corn near Collingwood, Ont., where he is president of the Ontario Federation of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
