Jim and Karen Taphorn hoped their son would take over their Kansas farm. He tried but plunging grain prices forced him out and the Taphorns decided to retire and sell their equipment at an auction in February.

Trade war and sagging prices push out U.S. farmers

A decade ago, young people were flocking back to the farm — but now they, and their parents, are leaving

A decade ago, young people were flocking back to the farm — but now they, and their parents, are leaving

Reading Time: 5 minutes Shuffling across his frozen fields, farmer Jim Taphorn hunched his shoulders against the wind and squinted at the auctioneer standing next to his tractors. After a fifth harvest with low grain prices, made worse last fall by the U.S.-China trade war, the 68-year-old and his family were calling it quits. Farming also was taking a physical toll […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Cheap corn, Prairie harvest quality weigh on prices

CNS Canada — Cheap corn imports and adverse Prairie harvest conditions should mean no shortage of feed grain in Alberta’s feedlot alley this winter — which should also keep prices under pressure going forward. “Anytime you get a ripe crop and you get snow and rain falling on it, it normally doesn’t make better quality,” […] Read more









(Allan Dawson file photo)

Manitoba corn rides strong yields through bearish market

CNS Canada — Even as large world supplies continue to weigh down the North American corn market, farmers in Manitoba can continue to hang their hats on strong yields, according to an industry expert. Manitoba’s average yield from the 2017 crop was 134 bushels an acre, according to Myron Krahn, president of the Manitoba Corn […] Read more