Featured – Kevin Hursh

An extra requirement is coming for the AgriInvest program for 2025. Producers with allowable net sales of a million dollars or more per year will require an environmental assessment to receive the matching government contribution. The change in AgriInvest came out of the federal/provincial/territorial agriculture ministers meeting two years ago, but details are just now […]

The latest field crop market outlook from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has large declines in the expected prices for many pulse and specialty crops. The monthly Outlook for Principal Field Crops report from Ag Canada takes Canadian and international supply and demand into account. Wheat is the only crop expected to have a somewhat better […]

The Canadian Grain Commission revoked the licences of Purely Canada Foods on August 27 and has since received claims from unpaid producers against the company.  Kevin Hursh, Chief Agricultural Editor of SaskAgToday.com, talked with Canadian Grain Commission commissioner Lonny McKague about the situation starting with the number of claims received:

Crop yields in Saskatchewan are better than last year, but the decline in prices will mean lower overall returns. Using Statistics Canada estimated yields and comparing them to the estimated yields from one year ago, all crops are showing a significant increase. It should be noted that the Statistics Canada yields do vary from those […]

Farm cash receipts from crops decreased in the first six months of the year as compared to 2023 while livestock receipts were higher. According to Statistics Canada, farm cash receipts for Canadian farmers totalled $47.4 billion in the first two quarters of the year, down $1.6 billion from the previous year. Crop receipts fell $3.3 […]

The Canadian Grain Commission has revoked the grain dealer licence and primary elevator licences of Purely Canada Foods Corp. in Avonlea, Kindersley and Lajord. According to sources in the grain trade, Purely Canada has been struggling to pay its bills for quite some time and there are many farmers unpaid for grain deliveries, particularly pulse […]

Price prospects for canola, durum, soybeans, corn and flax declined in the just-released August Outlook for Principal Field Crops published by the Market Analysis Group of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Between the July report and this August report of crop prices for 2024-25, the biggest price decline is for canola. The forecasted average price for […]

With a potential labour disruption on both major railways starting August 22, a cloud has been cast over fall grain deliveries. Hopefully, a strike or lockout does not occur on August 22, but at this point it doesn’t look promising. Both sides in the dispute are reported to be far apart. Grain buyers are already […]

If you ask grain farmers about their biggest input costs, they are likely to talk about equipment purchases, fertilizer prices or the cost of various crop protection products. One huge cost, grain freight rates are seldom top of mind because producers pay indirectly. Grain buyers pay the huge cost of grain movement by rail and […]

The new crop year begins this Thursday, August 1. The 2024-25 crop year is expected to see significant price declines for most crops. In fact, wheat and flax are the only crops where prices are forecast to be a bit better. The Market Analysis Group within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada issues regular outlooks for the […]