The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan applauded the agreement between Canada and China to reduce tariffs and trade barriers.

“Through this agreement, the resilience and dedication in our government-led negotiations were on full display,” said president Bill Prybylski.

“Producers of canola and peas have faced significant export barriers to China. We are grateful for the persistent efforts that culminated in this important breakthrough for the agricultural community.”

However, APAS flagged the lack of movement on canola oil or pork, saying that highlights continued challenges and the need for ongoing efforts to diversify export markets and safeguard the province’s sector against future trade uncertainty.

“We celebrate today’s success, but our commitment to broadening market diversification for all agricultural products remains firm,” said Prybylski.

“Our producers deserve stable, extensive market opportunities.”

The post APAS applauds China progress; wants action on canola oil, pork appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Three new independent senators were announced Feb. 7, and Todd Lewis, who farms at Gray, Sask., is among them.

He is a fourth-generation farmer, most recently serving as the first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. His appointment follows that of former CFA president Mary Robinson from Prince Edward Island, who was named to the upper chamber in January 2024.

Lewis said he was encouraged to apply by the increasing role the Senate has had in the parliamentary process the last few years, particularly since the minority government was elected in 2021.

“Ag in general, especially western Canadian ag, has been under-represented in the chamber,” he said.

Lewis was APAS president for five years and is also a rural municipal councillor in Lajord, where he is deputy reeve. He served on numerous committees, including the federal Crop Logistics Working Group, the board of the Western Grains Research Foundation and the Canadian National Railway’s agricultural advisory council, among others.

Locally, he has volunteered since 1975 at the Gray Cooperative Centre and Gray Cooperative Hall. He was a school board trustee and president of the rink board. He is a volunteer firefighter and on the board of the Riceton Volunteer Fire Department.

Robinson applauded Lewis’s appointment, calling it spectacular news.

“A senator who understands the challenges and opportunities western grain producers face,” she posted on X.

The CFA said in a statement that Lewis is an incredible leader and advocate for agriculture.

The six senators currently representing Saskatchewan include Lewis and David Arnot in the Independent Senators Group, Pamela Wallin in the Canadian Senators Group, Conservative Denise Batters and Marty Klyne and Tracy Muggli in the Progressive Senators Group.

—Updated Feb. 13

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For the last few years the government temporarily increased the interest-free amounts to reflect challenging conditions including high interest rates. In 2023, farmers were eligible to receive up to $350,000 interest-free; the maximum total advance available is $1 million.

Now, however, Ottawa will pay the interest on only $100,000, as it typically did.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan said that decision is “causing widespread apprehension” among producers.

APAS and the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association sent a joint letter to federal minister Lawrence MacAulay asking that the $350,000 amount be reinstated.

“It’s been three years since the APP interest-free portion was at $100,000 and interest rates have skyrocketed, grain prices have dramatically declined and input prices have remained high,” said APAS president Ian Boxall in a news release.

“The program needs to reflect the current realities of farm and ranch operations. Our margins are tighter today than two years ago when the amount was increased due to rapidly increasing input costs.”

APAS estimated the change could cost farmers an estimated $30,000 in interest costs.

The group and other organizations will meet with MacAulay next week during the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting in Ottawa.

The Canadian Canola Growers Association, one of the agencies that offers the APP, opened its early application window for 2024 advances Feb. 12.

—Karen Briere writes for the Western Producer from Saskatchewan.

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The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association issued a strongly worded press release on Tuesday after striking picketers targeted Vancouver’s Cascadia grain terminal, co-owned by Viterra and Richardson International.

“A strike is one thing, but to intentionally target a port that is critical to the lives of grain farmers and to the entire Canadian economy is the height of reckless irresponsibility,” association president Gunter Jochum said.

Other commodity groups across the country had more measured responses to PSAC’s strike, which began April 19. On the day workers walked off the job, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Jill Verwey weighed in with her organization’s concerns.

“KAP respects the rights of Canadian workers to collective action,” she said in an April 19 press release. “However, this strike could negatively impact grain shipments, resulting in backlogs and restricted cash flow for farmers, as well as increased demurrage costs for grain companies. Restrictions in cash flow could hamper a farmer’s ability to market their remaining 2022 crop as well as their ability to purchase inputs for the 2023 crop year.”

KAP expressed their concerns in writing to both the government of Canada and PSAC prior to the strike action and called on both to make sure adequate contingencies were in place to minimize negative impacts to the grain handling system.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) also weighed in, arguing that the supply chain has yet to fully recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and that a prolonged strike could be a major blow to producers.

“Delayed inspections will cause backlogs at ports. Every day a ship must wait means demurrage charges to grain companies, and these costs always make their way to the farmer,” APAS president Ian Boxall said.

To date, shipping hasn’t been dramatically affected. According to Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corporation (Canada’s Grain Monitor), while picketing at Cascadia was an inconvenience, it was limited to that location, only lasted a few hours and the impact was not significant.

“It’s the only terminal on the south shore where the entrance to the terminal property is outside the port security gates,” Hemmes said.

Terminals in Thunder Bay and Prince Rupert are also within port security gates, he added, and while some picketers have port passes, he says it’s unlikely they would use them for picketing.

Inspection impacts

However, it’s not just picketing that’s at issue. Sixty-five per cent of Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) staff are on strike right now, and that includes most of the grain inspectors.

“There are some inspection staff that are not in a strike position, but those are limited to some managers in the regions and inspection specialists across the country,” said CGC spokesperson Rémi Gosselin. “So that means that the CGC’s provision of official inspection and certification of grain exports is significantly impacted.”

To minimize the impacts on grain producers, companies and grain exports in general, the CGC has developed contingency plans allowing inspection services to continue. “We’ve allowed grain companies to temporarily collect samples on our behalf and then provide those to us so that we can provide final inspections and certification on grain shipments so that exports meet importing countries requirements,” Gosselin said.

According to Hemmes, those provisions appear to be working.

“So far, the ship-loading stats don’t show anything in the way of delays to vessel departures or loading,” he said. “The CGC contingent that is managing the inspections seems to be keeping up, and between the terminals and the CGC, they have procedures in place that ensure inspection protocols are being maintained.”

However, Hemmes said it’s a heavy burden to bear for those doing the inspections. “Those managers are going to need a holiday when this is done,” he said.

Jochum said he’s pleased with the work the CGC has done to ensure grain continues to move, but he fears that if the strike is prolonged, cracks could begin to show.

Time for a third party?

The wheat growers’ association has long argued that the Canada Grain Act should authorize third-party weighing and inspection of vessels leaving Canadian waters. Jochum said this strike is a good time to revive the issue and could help insulate the supply chain from future disruptions.

The call for third-party inspectors to replace federal inspectors is a hotly debated topic. The issue was raised a number of times during the consultation surrounding the current Canada Grain Act review.

The What We Heard: Canada Grain Act Review Consultations report, released in 2021, said, “While it was unanimous that the CGC should continue to have a role in the setting of quality standards, approximately half of respondents that discussed outward inspection were in favour of the CGC accrediting and overseeing third-party inspection companies rather than performing inspections directly.”

The wheat growers say that third-party inspectors are already in place to meet the demands of overseas customers, and there is therefore no need to duplicate those services.

The other side of the coin notes that the CGC stamp of approval is part of why Canadian grain quality has an excellent reputation.

But Jochum is concerned that if overworked managers are unable to keep up in the face of a prolonged strike, that reputation could be tarnished anyway.

“The problem is they are swamped. They are working seven days a week,” he said. “If this strike goes on for any length of time, eventually someone is going to drop the ball along the way.”

— Don Norman reports for the Manitoba Co-operator from Winnipeg.

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Her department used data provided by grower groups – including Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) – to arrive at the figures.

The federal estimate of the costs also factored in data provided by provincial governments, including those from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In all, the costs of carbon pricing on grain drying work out to between 0.05 to 0.42 per cent of total on-farm operating expenses, according to the federal government.

Citing high costs, grain farmers have asked for an exemption from the carbon tax for grain drying. Their case for doing so appeared to be bolstered by a particularly wet 2019 harvest, but the federal Liberal government is not considering such a measure at this time.

“The analysis that has been made by the department do not show that the impact of the price on pollution has a significant impact on grain drying, that it has a significant impact on the operation costs,” Bibeau said during a press availability Tuesday. “The impact is a very small percentage in the operating costs, so this is why we are not moving forward with more specific relief.”

Instead, federal officials hint at other approaches to offer relief to grain farmers. In February, the federal and Alberta governments partnered to launch the Efficient Grain Dryer Program. Aimed at covering the cost of improving energy efficiency on dryers, $2 million was retroactively made available to cover 50 per cent of eligible expenses.

A review of carbon pricing on “trade-exposed industries” — including agriculture — was also planned for early 2020 by the federal government. The current status of that review is unclear, but preliminary looks at carbon pricing’s impact on certain sectors of the economy are ongoing, according to federal officials.

Producers should not expect a recommendation to offer an exemption on grain drying coming out of that formal review when it is completed, however.

“Where the impact is significant, exemptions have been given,” Bibeau said, citing exemptions for operating farm machinery and vehicles, and for heating greenhouses.

“This pollution pricing policy, it’s an important part for a greener economy and for more sustainable development, and I think we also want to recognize farmers are doing a lot in terms of improving technologies, improving their practices to be good stewards of the land also,” she told reporters, “but I don’t think the price of pollution, waiving the price of pollution is the right approach, but we want to recognize the farmers for the good things they are doing for environment and we have more work to do on that.”

Critics – and producer groups – are taking issue with the figures Bibeau cited, arguing it is a far cry from the actual carbon costs they are paying to dry grain.

Conservative Party of Canada agriculture critic John Barlow brought the issue up during a meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture on Wednesday, saying he has seen higher figures from producers than the averages provided by Bibeau.

“I’ve got some ranging to a couple thousand dollars a month, and one that’s close to $10,000 a month,” he said, adding that Bibeau’s stats were “out of touch with reality.”

KAP has previously calculated Manitoba corn growers were paying around $3 an acre in grain drying-related carbon costs.

Grain Farmers of Ontario, in a separate statement Thursday, noted its numbers put the average cost of carbon pricing on the fuel to dry a corn crop at $5.50 per acre.

Thus, “on a 1,000-acre farm the carbon tax bill would be more than $5,000,” GFO chair Markus Haerle said. “That is really just the tip of the iceberg. We estimate that the cost of the carbon tax is $14 per acre if you take into account transportation, inputs, and more.”

During the committee meeting, federal deputy agriculture minister Chris Forbes said data from KAP, APAS, GFO and provinces were used to arrive at the federal estimate.

He admitted there were “slightly different estimates and that’s why we come up with a range.

“It’s based on grain farmers…there’s no kind of broader number of farms included there.”

Carbon pricing for provinces without their own plans went into effect in 2019, starting at $20 per tonne before rising to $30 a tonne in April. Costs will increase until 2022, when they reach $50 a tonne.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan on Monday released new estimates on the financial impacts of carbon pricing, accounting for all “major farm expenses not currently exempt” from the tax.

Such costs, APAS said, include grain drying, rail transportation, heating and electricity, as well as hauling crops off the farm by truck. The group said it will press for a carbon tax exemption on all farm expenses, including those from 2019.

Using the example of a household managing a 5,000-acre grain farm in Saskatchewan, APAS said the tax in 2020 would amount to an “$8,000 to $10,000 bill” and when the carbon tax increases to $50 per tonne in 2022, “this bill will go up to $13,000-$17,000 for the same household.”

APAS and Manitoba’s general farm organization, Keystone Agricultural Producers, have gone public with such numbers as federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has asked the provinces and ag industry for hard numbers to back up assertions of how much the tax costs farmers.

“We’ve responded with estimates that are backed up by producer bills in 2019,” APAS president Todd Lewis said in Monday’s release.

“Farmers don’t set our prices, so those increased costs are coming directly off our bottom line.”

APAS vice-president Bill Prybylski said the group’s numbers “reflect my personal experience down to the penny,” and described 2019 as “unprecedented in terms of the role grain drying played for farmers in our province. Without using propane to dry our grain, the wet fall would have meant losing a huge portion of our crop.”

Manitoba’s KAP last month reported its corn-growing members paid an average $3.69 on grain drying per acre, and the average farmer growing 500 acres of corn paid an estimated $14,145 on fuel for dryers, of which $1,722 went to carbon tax.

Grain transportation is also a “huge and unavoidable” carbon-taxable expense for farmers, APAS noted Monday. “Trucking my crop to the grain elevator, and then shipping it by rail to the coast is one of my biggest annual expenses,” the group’s vice-president Ian Boxall said.

“Our hope is that this is the evidence (Bibeau) is looking for,” Lewis said of APAS’s latest numbers. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The partner companies had made various promises at the time and many in Western Canada were cautious, hoping for the best but not fully knowing what to expect.

A year later, Nutrien has begun to settle into its new role in the agriculture world — and according to retailers and producers it hasn’t really shaken things up all that much.

However, a few aspects of the merger still have many in Western Canada cautiously watching.

“I don’t want to pretend to call it a non-event because there’s always a concern about consolidation and all I can say at the moment is it doesn’t have any obvious impact,” said Ray Redfern of Redfern Farm Services in southwestern Manitoba.

Before the merger, Redfern, an independent crop input retailer, sold both Agrium and PotashCorp products. Most Agrium products were bought directly from the company, while PotashCorp products were bought through a middleman, Agrico.

Since the merger, those purchases have continued as before. Redfern estimated, though, that an increasing portion of purchases are now being bought directly through Nutrien.

On the producer side, the merger remains a wait-and-see game as many of the new company’s changes are still ongoing, according to Todd Lewis, president of the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).

“There were some concerns, I know, in some areas with the amalgamations that there was going to be lost capacity, as far as delivery opportunities and picking up fertilizer,” he said.

In July, Nutrien rebranded Agrium’s Crop Production Services retailers as Nutrien Ag Solutions and invested money in upgrades to the retailers.

Lewis expected producers will find out this spring when they go to pick up fertilizer if the changes helped to improve wait times for pickups.

Out of office

There is concern from producers, though, if Nutrien will follow through with all of the promises it made before the merger, according to Lewis.

“A lot (of the news) about (Nutrien) in the media is about the head office here in Saskatchewan. I think Saskatchewan producers see that and kind of wonder about some of the promises that were made, if that wasn’t being kept, are some of the other ones at risk as well.”

Before the merger Nutrien had promised Saskatchewan it would keep Saskatoon, the home city for PotashCorp’s headquarters, as its head office location. PotashCorp was originally a provincial Crown corporation and when it was privatized in 1989, legislation required PotashCorp and any successors to maintain a head office in Saskatchewan.

Since the merger, though, almost all of Nutrien’s executives have been based out of the company’s Calgary office.

One unexpected change made by Nutrien was the company’s decision in February to shut down phosphate production at its facility near Redwater, Alta., northeast of Edmonton.

The Redwater plant, owned by Agrium before the merger, was the only phosphate manufacturer in Canada, while PotashCorp had phosphate facilities in the United States. For cost savings, Nutrien decided to move all of its phosphate production to the U.S.

Independent retailers have been warned by Nutrien they will have to ship phosphate in themselves, Redfern said.

However, for retailers in Manitoba such as Redfern Farm Services, Nutrien has said it will still distribute phosphate product from its facility near Portage la Prairie.

The shift to U.S.-made phosphate products has provided an incentive for more competition in the market. Before the merger, Agrium had the advantage of being the only retailer of Canadian phosphate products.

However, now that all phosphate products will be coming from outside of Canada, other retailers have started to expand their physical presence in Canada.

“(We’re hoping) that added competition here will bring fertilizer prices down, (or) at least keep (them) throttled a little bit anyway because we need good competition to make sure we’re paying a fair price,” Lewis said, adding Nutrien has assured farmers they won’t end up paying more for phosphate because of the closure.

— Ashley Robinson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow her at @AshleyMR1993 on Twitter.

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“The confidence from the farmer is not (there anymore). He just wants to see some crop come into his bin. So we’ve definitely slowed in our buying,” said Brandon Motz, sales manager at CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta.

Possible feed barley shortages aren’t the only concern on people’s minds as reports from across the Prairies point to hay shortages and shrivelled pastures. With less grazing and fewer feed options there is talk that some producers are considering selling cattle earlier than normal this year.

“When you hear (cattle) have to come off of grass early and end up in the feedlots, that’s not a good sign,” Motz said.

Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), in a release Wednesday, called on the federal government to implement a 2018 livestock tax deferral program for all Saskatchewan producers. This would allow producers who sell part of a cattle herd due to drought to defer a portion of the taxable sale proceeds to the following year.

Manitoba Agriculture’s weekly crop report on Monday said haying was continuing, but with low yields. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s crop report from Aug. 7 pegged first-cut hay yields at one tonne per acre, below the five-year average of 1.5 tonnes.

According to Motz, feed grain prices have started to settle after hitting highs earlier this month. Feed barley for September through December delivery is currently at around $255 per tonne, but Motz has seen offers for up to $260 per tonne for December.

There is concern that there won’t be enough barley available for feed. Motz has only heard of a few combines rolling in his area and early reports are that while quality is OK, yields are lower than expected.

“I think it’s fair to say that there won’t be enough barley around to only feed barley,” Motz said, adding that currently it looks like corn will be the best option to supplement feed.

Corn for delivery to Lethbridge in October through December is currently sitting around $252-$254 per tonne, while January to March delivery is higher at $262-$264 per tonne.

According to Motz, the bulk of the corn trades are currently coming by rail from the U.S., in 100-car units, but some are also coming from Manitoba.

— Ashley Robinson writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting.

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“One retailer I talked to said it was the cheapest nitrogen prices in 15 years,” according to Dan Mazier, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.

Prices also seem to be softer for phosphate, though not nearly to the same extent as nitrogen, he said.

Having a good canola crop this year has helped sharpen attention on fertilizer, he said.

“Everybody is doing their best to get those nutrients back into the system before spring seeding.”

In Saskatchewan, it’s a similar story, with some key twists.

According to Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, prices are down but he’s not certain it will mean more fertilizer will be applied than usual.

Cheap prices for fertilizer don’t mean as much when you don’t have the moisture to go along with it, he noted.

“We were so dry this year,” he said, referring in particular to southern Saskatchewan.

Heading closer to springtime, he expects commodity prices will influence whether additional applications will be made or not.

“If canola is strong in price in the spring, guys may put on a touch more,” he said.

— Dave Sims writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Glacier FarmMedia company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow CNS Canada at @CNSCanada on Twitter.

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The province announced in March it would wind down the SPP, kicking off a public consultation process. Based on those consultations, the province confirmed Thursday it will grant the 50 provincial pastures’ current patron groups the first option on 15-year leases for the sites.

The pastures, which combined cover about 780,000 acres, will transition out of the program over the next three years, starting with 13 in the province’s northwest, for the 2018 grazing season.

Another 19 pastures in the northeast and northwest will move out of the program in the 2019 season; the remaining 18, in the northeast and south, will make the transition by the 2020 season.

Leases in these cases will be similar to those offered to patrons of federal community pastures, the province said. The federal pastures have been moving to patron control since 2012.

If “interested parties” such as environmental agencies, municipalities or First Nations want to work with patron groups that can’t lease the land on their own, those organizations may partner with patrons to obtain the 15-year lease.

The leases will also allow continued access for hunting, including the “exercise of rights and traditional uses” by First Nations and Metis communities, the province said.

Pastures slated to move out of the SPP after the 2017 grazing season include Antelope Park, Beacon Hill, Bluebell, Cabana, Fairholme, Fielding, Grill Lake, Hafford, Hatherleigh, Lizard Lake, Makwa, McDonald Creek and St. Walburg.

The pastures remaining in the SPP to the end of the 2018 grazing season include Barrier Lake, Bertwell, Big River, Cookson, Crystal Springs, Donsland, Jackson Lake, Lady Lake, Marean Lake, Mistatim, Pathlow, Pleasantdale, Rosthern-St. Julien, Smeaton, Smoky Burn, Swan Plain, Sylvania, Whitebeech and Wingard.

The remaining pastures, which stay in the SPP to the end of the 2019 season, include Arena, Beechy, Calder-Togo, Dixon, Good Spirit, Grainland, Insinger, Mankota, Matador, Meyronne, Midale, Millie, Old Wives, Pipestone, Regina Beach, Scout Lake, Strawberry Lake and Valjean.

“This approach will ensure continued grazing opportunities and environmental stewardship of the land,” provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart said Thursday.

The SPP, which dates back to 1922, was set up to help the ag industry diversify by assisting small cattle producers, but “the agriculture industry has evolved, as have the needs of producers, and the program is no longer necessary,” the government said in March.

In 2015, the province said, the SPP supported about five per cent of the provincial cattle herd. Based on 2011 census data, about 12 per cent (1,300) of Saskatchewan cattle producers use the SPP.

The province’s consultations on SPP pastures found “broad support” for granting the first option to existing patrons, while the “majority” of participants opposed the idea of selling off or subdividing SPP lands.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) said in a separate release Thursday it was pleased the province heeded its recommendations for winding down the SPP.

“We are pleased to see that the consensus of producers and the public are reflected in the announcement, and that it was made early to allow patrons to plan for the future,” APAS president Todd Lewis said.

However, he added, the group hopes to have “further conversations on ways the pastures can continue to support access by beginning and young producers,” noting the SPP has until now “provided new entrants and mixed farmers with grazing opportunities that otherwise might not be available.” — AGCanada.com Network

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