Volatility was the recurring theme in the cattle industry over 2011. The fact is that the mood created by that volatility has carried into 2012. Even with things looking up for producers, the violent swings of the 2011 market are tempering any optimism with caution. Those sentiments were apparent at this year's Tiffin Conference as... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Over the past couple of days, I have been reading and seeing a bunch of different articles in relation to keeping young farmers on the farm and attracting first generation farmers. My question? Why is it any different than any other entrepreneurial business. I’m sure that there are tens of thousands of people across Canada... Read More
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association released information this morning that South Korea has lifted its ban on Canadian Beef imports. This news is long overdue and we have to realize that trade resumption doesn't happen overnight. Learning from our agreement with China, Canada must complete all of the more detailed technical issues as quickly as possible... Read More
So far, across most of the West, it's been what can only be described as an odd winter. Parts of the southwest have experienced hurricane force winds, a great portion has seen extended periods of plus temperatures up to now offset by short periods of temperatures in the extreme of up to minus 40. With... Read More
The last time we spoke to Patrick Crampton, we talked about Agrisoma's research and development of the carinata plant in the area of biofuels. The plant is very similar to canola, but with an industrial oil profile suited well to diesel and jet fuel usage. The agronomics are very similar to canola in the fact... Read More
There are almost always times during harvest where you're racing to beat some weather event. You're either combining through what you hope is a short period of rain or in some cases, sadly, snow, and you're forced to shut down and wait it out or shut down until next morning. You don't want to get... Read More
Charlie Gracey is one of Canada's more renowned experts on the beef industry in Canada. Charlie very much understands the relationship of the rancher, feeder and packer. At the Tiffin Conference in Lethbridge, Charlie discussed at length the things that the Canadian industry must do to increase markets and increase supply concurrently. Charlie believes that... Read More
Machinery is the major draw at most farm shows. Everyone loves to see the newest and the best from every company on the trade show floor. This year at Cropweek 2012's Crop Production Week portion of the show, we saw just that. At this years show we saw everything from the worlds largest grain cart... Read More
Farmers in Western Canada will be going through a big change come August. The end of the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk will open up a whole new landscape to producers. It's a landscape that some farmers are unsure about and other farmers are excited for. For those who land on the unsure side of... Read More
Christie Young is the Executive Director of FarmSmart and this week she has created some stir within the Canadian Agriculture industry by saying that our industry is not prepared for the coming mass farmer retirements. What has really caused the stir is her statement that the government has some sort of responsibility to ensure we... Read More