Reading Time: 3 minutes So much has been written about the fate of the Canadian Wheat Board that one approaches the topic with trepidation. The government has made it clear that the board’s days as a monopoly are numbered and I expect the feds are well along with the enabling legislation to strip the CWB of its powers. In […] Read more
Winners And Losers From The Demise Of The Wheat Board
First Things First, Starting With The Soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes Last month a milestone was marked in the history of world agriculture when the bovine disease rinderpest was officially declared eradicated (see page 20). Unfortunately, other diseases which threaten agriculture have yet to be wiped out, and at least one affects farmers rather than livestock. That’stillage recreationalis,the desire to cultivate for no good reason. It […] Read more
Cattle Operations — Is The Y In The Road Grass Or Grain?
Reading Time: 3 minutes The cattle business has many components and is divided into various enterprises that individual producers opted to participate in. The cowcalf segment always has been the starting point, with subsequent divisions or new enterprises branching off the cow-calf business. Several enterprises, such as grass and feedlot, are well known. One could add bull and heifer […] Read more
The Real Story Blowing In The Wind In Southern Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes One has to admire the business and political skills of the wind turbine industry if the endless march of steel towers across prominent ridges in southern Alberta is any indication. Their powerful lobby has browbeaten any critics and has governments at every level bowing at their feet. It seems politicians can’t offer subsidies, tariff incentives, […] Read more
In Other Words, Throwing A Dart Is Just As Good
Reading Time: 2 minutes Enormous resources are now being poured into commodity price forecasting but a thoughtful paper by the New York Fed casts doubt on whether it is likely to be successful. In a 2010 working paper on “Commodity prices, commodity currencies, and global economic developments” and now featured on the New York Fed’s website, Jan Groen and […] Read more
The Wheat Board Debate — It’s Time To Move On
Reading Time: 4 minutes Allen Oberg, chairman of the Canadian Wheat Board, spoke about the future of the CWB at the Western Canadian Farm Progress Show in Regina recently. While reading and listening to his presentation online, I was struck with just how much this debate is now focused on the plight of the reformed CWB, and not about […] Read more
Farmers And The Climate Change Conundrum
Reading Time: 3 minutes With the crop insurance deadline now past, farmers and their crop insurance agents across much of the Prairies are pulling on their galoshes to assess the damages from yet another spring with too much water. Cattle producers are worrying about winter feed supplies as they watch floodwaters inundate their hay fields. We are told this […] Read more
Another Month, Another Government Report
Reading Time: 3 minutes Perhaps it has something to do with Premier Stelmach’s resignation, but government reports on the future of Alberta seem to be coming out of the woodwork. First it was the premier’s Council for Economic Strategy report, and now it’s the Alberta Competitiveness Council report. In a previous column I noted that the premier’s council report […] Read more
Australia Offers Research Model For The Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Excerpts from the agriculture section of the Moving Alberta Forward report by the Alberta Competitiveness Council. It refers to the Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation, which collects a levy of .99 per cent from growers of 25 crops, with contributions matched by the national government. The Australian Grains Research and Development Corporation experience offers […] Read more
Don’t Get Carried Away By The Farmland Hype
Reading Time: 3 minutes Parallel stories quoting the same leading economist appearing to say contradictory things about investment in farmland bring a wry smile and provide a lesson in the importance of psychology and behavioural approaches to finance. Investment News,which describes itself as the leading news source for financial advisers, has renowned Yale Professor Robert Shiller advising investors to […] Read more