Off to Panorama Skiing

[charliep]

Likely a strange comment but crops prices have very little to do with what happens in Canada. If you back over history, some of canola's highest price years. Similarly, some of the low price years were ones where a production disaster occurred.

Lots of outside factors influence price. What would the price of crops be today if the loonie were 66 cents or even 75 cents versus the green back? What influence will a devaluation in the Euro have on competitiveness as Europe deals with financial problems in the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain)?

Not criticizing anyone for trying to push costs out of the system. Expecting big changes in international grain and oilseed prices as a result of something that happens in Canada is perhaps optimistic at best. The world is changing. Is agriculture in Canada positioning itself for something different or is the to do more of the same thing?

[charliep]

Error alert- Some of Canada's highest canola price years were ones of high production. Some of the low price years matched up with production disasters.

[Choice2U]

I find it utterly useless to think or compare anything to the boom in the 70's because other than the roaring 20's, nothing else has come close. My dad was born in 1925 and the price of a bushel of wheat was $2.65 (source may be suspect). Point being, 2 x 5 or so boom years in the past 100 is useless to look at. I would rather base my sights on the other 90 years which only have short blips up. The only reason we had $18 canola for a week in 08 was because of hedge fund speculation which has nothing to do with the "real" market over the long haul. The other thing I remember is my first truck loan at 22% in 1980.....subsequent generations paid dearly for the boom of the 70's.