A new year often brings out the resolutions, plans, and ambitions for the year ahead. Every two months, the RealAgristudies Insights Panel will weigh in on the Canadian Farmer Sentiment index. Beginning in September 2022, the index measures how farmers are feeling — either positive or negative — on a range of issues, including crop... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Negotiating a new agriculture policy framework is never easy, but the next iteration, set for April 1, 2023, was particularly contentious. The ministers met in Saskatchewan in July to set out a final agreement.
A program in Manitoba is teaching students about flying drones and using plant imagery to fight plant disease. Matthew Johnson, vice president, education and digital ag at Volatus Aerospace, designed the course to be interactive, engaging, and forward-focused, with a multi-year option. "I wanted to come up with a newer program that was exciting and... Read More
Farmers and agronomists across Western Canada are understandably concerned about insecticide options for pest control in 2023. Following the late November announcement of lambda-cy-containing products Silencer and Matador being pulled from retail locations, many are wondering if the remaining available products will be in short supply for the year. One of the alternative options for... Read More
In agriculture — and hey, let's face it, across the world — we like to compartmentalize. Whether you are a conventional farmer, organic farmer, rancher, no-tiller, etc., there's a ton of crossover across all these systems. This topic came up earlier this week on RealAg Radio, when Bernard Tobin, Shaun Haney, and myself discussed our... Read More
Looking ahead to a new year and a new production season with optimism is exciting, and there are plenty of good reasons for farmers to be in a positive mindset for ’23. Challenges can create opportunities, too, so even the less-good can end up manageable with the right plan. As we look to the year... Read More
As much as the 2023 growing season and following marketing year are highly unlikely to be as wild as 2022, there's still plenty of unknowns and volatility ahead. Neil Townsend, analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions, says there were definitely head-scratchers in the 2022 season — like when wheat prices shot up, then dropped, then settled... Read More
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has requested new dispute settlement consultations with Canada under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA or USMCA). Ambassador Katherine Tai says her office has identified additional aspects of Canada's dairy tariff-rate quota (TRQ) allocation process that it believes are inconsistent with Canada's obligations after initiating the latest dispute in May 2022.... Read More
The Canadian Transportation Agency has issued its ruling on how CN and CP Rail's profits from transporting Western Canadian grain compared with their regulated maximum grain revenue entitlements for the 2021-2022 crop year. CN's grain revenue last crop year was reported at $592,208,589 — $3,068,088 above its maximum entitlement, while CP's grain revenue was $515,508,638... Read More
As the calendar winds down, so too does the work week and the routines of week in and week out. And so it is with the host of Wheat Pete's Word, Pete Johnson, as he offers this, the last Word of the year. For this week's podcast, Johnson has a little agronomy and a lot... Read More