Long before COVID-19 disrupted agricultural markets, Canadian farm leaders were lobbying the federal government for money to offset the effect of trade disputes and harvest problems. But the latest farm income figures don’t necessarily back that call, showing, on the whole, Canadian farmers netted more money in 2019 than the year before. 2019 Canadian farm
Farm income up amid calls for more farm aid
Do Prairie grain farmers need more government help? Not right now according to one producer
Despite low rates, farm interest costs ballooned in 2019
Farm income may have been up in 2019, but expenses kept pace, according to government figures. Both cash receipts and operating expenses after rebates for Canadian farmers were up six per cent to $66 billion and $53 billion, respectively, according to Statistics Canada. One of the biggest increases in expenses was interest, up almost $600
Pot crop receipts obscure farm income figures
Measured by cash receipts cannabis ranks fourth behind canola, wheat and soybeans
It didn’t take long for cannabis to become a major crop in Canada. It was legalized for recreational use in October 2018. In 2019 cannabis cash receipts of $2.3 billion put it fourth behind canola ($8.6 billion), wheat, excluding durum ($5.4 billion), and soybeans ($2.5 billion). Cannabis narrowly beat grain corn which in 2019 generated
Frost was mostly light, but check your fields for other crop stressors right now
Flea beetles and cutworms are on the rise, while packed soils and dry hot winds are other things to watch for
[UPDATED: June 2, 2020] Potential frost damage might be the least of the many crop stressors Manitoba farmers see as they scout their fields the next several days. “Frost is just one of the factors we’re looking for right now,” Anastasia Kubinec, Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development’s (MARD) Manager of Crop Industry Development, said in
Most unharvested canola still has value: MASC
The quality of much of Manitoba’s overwintered wheat was worse than expected
Most of the unharvested, insured crop in Manitoba fields is still worth harvesting, according to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC). “We feel we’ve addressed the (insured) fields that everybody agrees aren’t worth combining,” David Van Deynze, MASC’s vice-president of innovation and product support said in an interview May 21. There are anecdotal reports of farmers frustrated with MASC for
CN wants to discuss farmers’ private rail crossings
New safety regulations take effect Nov. 27, 2021 and in some cases upgrades will be required
CN Rail will soon contact farmers with private crossings to discuss making them safer by Nov. 27, 2021, as required under federal regulations introduced by the former Conservative government in 2014. But before letters are mailed, CN is asking provincial farm groups, including Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), for input to ensure it strikes the
Australian barley farmers, Canadian canola growers share Chinese nemesis
China is Australia’s biggest malting barley market, but Chinese tariffs will all but stop Australian barley imports. Sound familiar?
Australian barley farmers and Canadian canola producers are on opposite sides of the world, but share a common blight: China, once their best customer is now a hostile adversary, accused of letting geopolitical goals sideline international trade rules. May 19 China, which accounts for two-thirds of Australia’s malting barley exports, imposed an 80.5 per cent
Corn Growers says cash advances flowing fast
The canola growers’ association expects its backlog to be cleared up by month’s end
COVID-19 has delayed delivery of cash advances by the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), but that hasn’t been the case for the Manitoba Corn Growers Association. “It (COVID) hasn’t impacted our ability in terms of still providing that service standard (of dispersing advances) three to seven (business) days (after receiving a completed application),” association general
Alberta’s FarmCash considering expanding services to other provinces
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) got into the cash advance business last year creating FarmCash Advance for Alberta farmers only, but it’s considering expanding to other provinces, says FarmCash chief operating officer Syeda Khurram. That’s despite a number of other well-established grain and oilseed advance administrators, including the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), Manitoba Corn Growers Association and
Illegal seed exports threaten Canadian farmers’ competitiveness
Kazakhstanis have been buying western Canadian cereal and pulse seed and Canada’s seed industry wants Ottawa to stop the seed from leaving Canada
Kazakhstani companies are illegally buying what some consider to be Western Canada’s crown jewels — high-value cereal and pulse seed. The varieties were developed publicly, for Canada’s benefit — prompting the seed industry to urge the Canadian government to stop it from leaving the country. “There is not much more that Canadian companies can do (to stop
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