Climate Change is Good! ... Well for Canadian Farmers.  

Posted by Wyatt

Stanford researchers believe that climate change has already begun to slow harvest growth rates almost everywhere in the world — except in the United States and Canada.

"In some sense, Canada has gained relative to a lot of other countries because Canada has not seen significant trends so far and other countries have, on average, been hurt by climate change which has driven up prices," Lobell said.

Weather or not, climate change is a factor or possibly just a drought in Europe and an earthquake in Japan that result in the prices to rise and the good weather in North America causing increased yields. I guess the most important thing people should take from this is how different the agriculture industry is compared to other industries because we have so many factors that dictate whether we receive a profit. This is why it is important to be versatile when it comes to agriculture because it is truly a industry where only the strong survive.       

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Our Purebred Journey.  

Posted by Wyatt



As most of you all will know after reading my blog about the bell L brand, our cattle made us who we are and have helped us develop our future. In 1943 my great grand parents bought our first purebred Hereford herd, this came with their homestead at Symons Valley just north of Calgary.  Since then we have made great leaps forward, We were the first people to export Hereford semen to Australia in 1973. In 1976 we were on the leading edge of embryo transplanting and flushing. It was important to my Grandparents to start our own annual production sale in 1972 selling our hereford bulls. We continued on with our purebred Herefords until 2001 were we sold them to Adams Hirsche Herefords. At this time my father took over the cattle and purchased commercial cattle, a herd made up of Hereford and Angus cows. We use the strong Angus characteristics like strong udders and combined them with the hardiness of the Hereford breed. For 7 years we grew our hereford influence herd to over 500 head. Then we sold our herd and now we are custom grassing cattle. The interesting part is that now, I have purchased two purebred Hereford heifers from Hirsche Herefords last fall. One contains almost all of the Hanson genetics and the other contains only a bit of our genetics. I also have a small commercial herd of my own containing Hereford influence genetics.         

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The Cowboy Loan  

Posted by Wyatt

A Cowboy entered a bank in New York City and asked for the loan officer. He told the loan officer that he was going to Paris for an international rodeo for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000 and that he was not a depositor of  the bank. The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan, so the Cowboy handed over the keys to a new Ferrari. The car was parked on the street in front of the bank. The Cowboy produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to hold the car as collateral for the loan and apologized for having to charge 12% interest.

Later, the bank's president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the Cowboy from Montana for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral for a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank's private underground garage and parked it.
Two weeks later, the Cowboy returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest of $23.07. The loan officer said, "Sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, checked you out on Dunn & Bradstreet and found that you are a highly sophisticated investor and multimillionaire with real estate and financial interests all over the world. Your investments include a large number of wind turbines around Big Timber, Montana . What puzzles us is - why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"
The good ol' Montana boy replied, "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $23.07 and expect it to be there when I return?"        

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What Does Majority Mean For Farmers  

Posted by Wyatt

Like all Ag people I am eagerly awaiting what the Conservative Majority has is mind for farming in canada. 


The party's agriculture platform included a promise to remove barley from the CWB's authority.





The Conservatives have also pledged to place a continued emphasis on market access and trade. During the campaign, Stephen Harper also spoke about completing the Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement by 2012 and the Canada-India Free Trade Agreement in 2013. The Conservatives have also promised to continue to stand up for supply management in all international forums and bilateral negotiations.



Noting that I think that the Conservative minority made small steps towards making farming more practical, we now may really see some large strides forward.

This means more individualism, allowing farmers to market barley outside of the province, and more money in Farmers pocket. Also free trade with Canada's second largest overall trading partner. 

I think that the less government involvement will directly reduce the bureaucracy and let individuals see a higher profit.

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Pricey Earrings!  

Posted by Wyatt

With calving season in high gear, I am sure the cost of the RFID tags has crossed the Supper table more then once this season. After doing some research of my own I have begun questioning the cost of these little chips. 
First off lets look at just how they work. Passive RFID tags rely entirely on the reader as their power source. These tags are read up to 20 feet away, and they have lower production costs than battery powered active and semi-active tags. Most passive RFID tags cost between 7 and 20 cents each [source:RFID Journal]. 

What I am trying to understand is how a chip that cost 20 cents max can be costing farmers $3.00 to $3.50 for a little more plastic and large numbers. Don't get me wrong I think that a strong identifying system is key especially when it comes to tracking diseases and other hazards to the industry, but I think that the price has been inflated due to the farmers dependence on the tag to sell livestock. let me know what you think of the price and the reason why they are so expensive.   



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BMO Thinks the Future is Bright!  

Posted by Wyatt





The Bank of Montreal on Thursday forecast that Canada’s agricultural sector will grow by between 3.5 and 4.0 percent this year barring major flooding that may hurt crop yields.


The experts think that the crop segment is expected to grow faster than its livestock counterpart, where activity will be limited by smaller breeding herds and high feeding costs. Canadian farmers are likely to continue to experience solid financial performance this year, with crop and livestock prices expected to remain buoyant and output rising on stronger demand and improved yields.


I think that this is very good news!  However, I am still very concerned that the corporate agricultural business will take most of it, if not all of the increase in the market, leaving the farmers once again without an increase in profit.  

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Who to Vote for when it comes to Agriculture...Just in time for the election  

Posted by Wyatt

 Conservatives

The Conservative platform focuses more on agriculture and farmers than food, although it does mention the creation of a national farm and food strategy to guide federal policy.

New export markets beat out local food initiatives.

In the last budget, the Conservatives tabled a proposal to inject $50-million over two years into agricultural innovation. Their platform promises creation of an “Agriculture Innovation Initiative, to support local farm-based research and development projects.”

Ag, not food

“Whatever it is that drives the best return to a farmer,” said former agriculture minister Gerry Ritz.




Green

Of the federal food platforms, the Green Party has the only policy that mentions the link between agriculture and climate change.
Reward farmers for switching to organic production methods; strengthen Canadian organic standards; implement strict monitoring of pesticides.
Expand domestic food production and procurement with “200-kilometre diet” promotion; expand farmers' markets and culinary tourism, rooftop gardens, urban agriculture and seed banks.
Reform agricultural regulations “to challenge corporate concentration;” reform farm income supports; encourage grocery retailers to make shelf space for local foods.
Establishment of greenhouse gas emission targets in collaboration with industry.




Liberals

Announced with much fanfare last April by Leader Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal food platform aims to be Canada's first national food policy. It is the brainchild of Carolyn Bennett, Liberal candidate for the west Toronto riding of St. Paul's.
Promotion of healthier living with education programs for children; improved food labelling; tough new restrictions on trans fats and sodium.
$50-million injection to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ramp up inspections on imported food; full review of federal agencies responsible for food safety.
A mass review of Canada's entire agriculture file, from subsidies to research and innovation.
Rewards for farmers who set aside land for wildlife habitats or carbon sequestering; quadruple clean-energy production.
Expand export markets for Canadian food and beverage producers.






NDP

The NDP food platform is the thickest of those of the federal parties, and is the most focused on the development of regional food systems. Belief that access to and sustained production of healthy food is critical to Canada's future. New labelling laws will help consumers identify healthy foods and genetically modified ingredients.
Educate students on how to produce and prepare nutritious foods.
Boost support to Canadian producers and local food networks by supporting farmers' markets, agriculture co-operatives and alternative regulation for small-scale operators.
Review the impact of trade agreements to assess threats to domestic food security.
Improve young farmers' access to arable land and training.

I am very exited to vote and I think that I am going to vote Conservative because their platform is focused on helping farmers and the industry rather than food and the environment. I hope that this post will help you make a decision with your food supply in mind.    

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