Featured – Kevin Hursh

Each month, the Market Analysis Group of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada releases an Outlook for Principal Field Crops. The March report contains some major changes on price predictions. For the current crop year, the biggest price prediction change is on canola, a drop of $25 a tonne on the average price expected for the year. […]

For Canadian farmers facing soft grain prices due to tariff threats from the U.S. and some prohibitive tariffs by China, additional government support has been limited. Meanwhile, American field crop producers are about to receive a $10 billion support payment. The program is called ECAP, the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program. Payments to American farmers are […]

Statistics Canada has released a seeding intentions report based on a survey of producers from across the country. While the report shows some interesting trends, the results are being discounted because so much has changed since the survey was conducted. The survey of 8,200 farmers was conducted between December 13 and January 17. Since then, […]

International factors are pushing up the price of nitrogen fertilizer. In the middle of summer, urea fertilizer, 46-0-0 could be purchased in the $650 to $700 a tonne range. The price is now approaching $800 a tonne and if suppliers need to access more nitrogen for farmers, the price looks like it will go even […]

Funding for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance was announced yesterday, but no program enhancements were included. Producers will soon receive information on their coverage levels and premiums for all the various crops. Here’s a look at the commodity prices Crop Insurance will be using and how they compare to last year. Base prices for all the major […]

Both major railways are struggling to move grain in a timely fashion. According to the Ag Transport Coalition, CPKC was the first to see badly lagging performance, but CN has now joined the downward swing. The railways recovered from the brief labour disruption in August and movement was pretty good until November. However, starting in […]

Insecticides with the trade names Matador, Silencer and Labamba are again approved for most uses in the growing season ahead. The active ingredient is lambda-cyhalothrin. Back in 2023, the Pest Management Regulator Agency (PMRA) cancelled all feed uses of lambda on crops. While human consumption of crops treated with lambda was still a registered use, […]

Saskatchewan Agriculture’s 2025 Crop Planning Guide is now available on-line. Printed versions will be available at the Crop Production Show next week in Saskatoon and also at regional offices. Some crops show a profit over and above total costs, but many cropping options do not. The Crop Planning Guide uses two yield assumptions – a […]

Crop prices varied dramatically throughout 2024. The agriculture portion of the Saskatchewan government website has graphs of farm gate grain prices over time. Note that prices vary from one location to another each day and also vary geographically depending upon access to processing facilities. However, the graphs show the relative ups and downs. Canola hit […]

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has dropped its canola price forecast for the current crop year. This has ramifications for what the canola price will be for the crop insurance program. Every month, the Market Analysis Group of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada releases an Outlook for Principal Field Crops. In the December 19 report, a number […]