Saskfarmer3

[AlbertaFarmer5]

First of all, I do appreciate your weekly crop reports and political observations, even if the drama is a little over the top sometimes. From a marketing point of view, it would be great if we all had time to travel the width and breadth of the prairies once a week during our busiest seasons to draw our own conclusions, which obviously doesn't happen.

But I do take issue with two comments you often make. Only needing 4 of 1" rains to make a crop. According to google, 1" of rain will grow 3.5 to 4 bushels of canola per acre. So 4 one inch rain events will grow at most 16 bushels per acre. Not sure how much snow melt soaks in in your area, here it typically runs off of frozen ground, not leaving much moisture anywhere except the low ground. Then perform some tillage, some evaporation, lose some while seeding, and I'm not sure that you can grow a 60 bushel canola crop on 4" of in season rain, at least not year after year. That said, we have grown some amazing crops on almost no in season rain in recent years thanks to excess subsoil moisture( all gone now).

The other issue is western Canada being the hardest place in the world to farm. I can't speak for your neighborhood, but here, I've never had my farm forcibly nationalized, or been forced into a collective, armed rebels haven't murdered any of my neighbors, no one has armed guards at the gates of the razor wire fence around the compound called the farm yard. I've never had to pay a bribe to any corrupt official or mob to remain in business or deliver my produce. I'm not afraid to enlist the help of the police. I am quite confident that this society won't let me starve to death if my crop fails completely for multiple years. There is very little hard manual labour required on my farm, I don't till any fields by hand. My profit or loss isn't directly tied to the success or failure of the monsoon season, or depth of the dry season. I have access to crop insurance, however flawed it may be, I have access to experts in every field for free. I have a publicly maintained road that can handle 44 Tonnes of freight year around right to my front gate. I can do business with a handshake with my suppliers and purchasers, and have access to a mostly uncorrupt legal system in the event that falls through. I can do it all on credit if I had the inclination, and I have access to cheap credit by world standards, including interest free cash advance. And if I don't pay that debt, there is a process for getting out of it that doesn't involve broken bones.
Most products, parts etc. are produced and warehoused somewhere on the continent I live, and with the incredible infrastructure, I can get them very fast if necessary. I can come on this public forum and post whatever I want with no fear or repurcussions( except maybe facing the ire of Chuck and Grass). And on the opposite end of the spectrum, I am still free to do almost anything on my own land, and drag nearly anything on the road, unlike many of our European neighbors. And yes, there are areas with a lot more sever weather than we get, there are farmers on Greenland, on high altitude mountains, floodplains, deserts, hurricane and tornado alleys etc.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

In my travels, I've seen fields that had more rocks than soil, were so steep I'd be afraid to walk on them. There are farmers losing their land to sand dunes, salt, heavy metal toxicity, even advancing glaciers (been a few centuries, but it it really does happen within recorded history). There are areas where irrigation water is is a perennial unknown, and can be pulled at a moments notice. Farmers around the world have been farming through armed conflicts, civil wars and world wars, in constant fear of the next military coup. Farmers in Nebraska are paying more than 100 times the property tax I pay. The list could go on indefinitely.

[grassfarmer]

Good points!

[SASKFARMER3]

Normal fall after crop is off we get two to four inches. Winter lots more snow than Regina area. Melt is way slower north of valley. And usually a wet snow before seeding so yes 4 one inch rams does it.

Two study farming yes we have some good things but reality is if you make one mistake or Mother Nature screws you your done before you harvest. No redos etc. We have short season etc. So yea maybe not wars etc growing a crop in canada is not easy.

It’s a big country and each arena is different. I always said the flooding we had is sort of normal but the length of time it lasted was way longer than ever before.

That’s why it’s the Friday crop report each guy on here is in a certain area and should say what’s happening. For years when I had shit I said how bad it was.

Hope that answers your questions hav a great Saturday I had hail and will be walking fields and if the f&&king wind would calm down fly the drone over and asses

[BreadWinner]

Thanks SF3 for your crop reports, I wish more would post pictures and conditions along with yours. Its too bad some others love to hear you had hail. Typical lefty attitude, they never like to see anyone getting ahead. Hope it isn't too bad.

[SASKFARMER3]

Looks like three got hit worst rest that useless five or less percent

Now get to walk fields and argu with retired teachers

[AlbertaFarmer5]

SF3, you have my sincerest sympathy on both excess moisture, and hail. Those are our #1 and 2 costliest issues too. Wouldn't wish them on anyone, not even my neighbor who never gets either...

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I forgot to add volcanoes and earthquakes to the list of issues we don't deal with. This winter, We stayed beside and spent time in the area of Hawaii that is now under lava. Excess moisture eventu ally dries, excess lava is kind of permanent.

[jazz]

Alberta, with all due respect farming in canada is the hardest place in the world.

Here is why;

1. You need thousands of acres of land to make it now.
2. Ag was nationalized before you were born. Its been used for cheap food policy, trade negotiations, to support Britain in WW1&2, so save both china and russia from famine in the 70s, etc etc.
3. Winter, look at a globe. The entire southern hemisphere doesnt get snow. Europe is moderated by the ocean. The southern US gets mild or no winters.
4. There is no ag region in the world that is 2000 miles from tidewater with half that distance being mountainous terrain.
5. Weather - we continually have several weather systems fighting themselves over our heads, on top of that we have el nino/nina adding to the mix. Do you know there are places in the world that get no wind and their conditions are the same day in day out?
6. We may not have armed rebels but we have a govt that is usually hostile or ambivalent about this industry.

[SASKFARMER3]

I know we’re you were in Hawaii and really the ag on that area were the flow is entering the ocean isn’t prime farm land. But yea I get your point.

My point is we have no second chances in canada somethingg goes wrong it’s next year country.

Yea the hail does piss a guy off but that’s farming.

[WiltonRanch]

Every farming areas has its pitfalls and advantages. All I know is my family has farmed here since 1905 through far worse circumstances than we experience today. One mistake or an early frost and no food for the family. Grappa told me about these poor buggers from the dry south trying to settle in the bush north of where their place was. Straight bush and rock. Out of all who ventured forth not one made it. Today it’s bush pasture. Guys lived on partridge and rabbit and selling a little wood. People went crazy. Suicides were common. One old boy walked out in the bush and cut his own throat with a razor.

[GDR]

Alberta, with all due respect farming in canada is the hardest place in the world.

Here is why;

1. You need thousands of acres of land to make it now.
2. Ag was nationalized before you were born. Its been used for cheap food policy, trade negotiations, to support Britain in WW1&2, so save both china and russia from famine in the 70s, etc etc.
3. Winter, look at a globe. The entire southern hemisphere doesnt get snow. Europe is moderated by the ocean. The southern US gets mild or no winters.
4. There is no ag region in the world that is 2000 miles from tidewater with half that distance being mountainous terrain.
5. Weather - we continually have several weather systems fighting themselves over our heads, on top of that we have el nino/nina adding to the mix. Do you know there are places in the world that get no wind and their conditions are the same day in day out?
6. We may not have armed rebels but we have a govt that is usually hostile or ambivalent about this industry.

Human nature makes us feel we are worse off than the next guy. Not usually true. Here is my counter arguments.

1. There are lots of ways to be successful at farming without thousands of acres, livestock, market gardens, specialty crops, organic, farmgate sales etc. But if you want to only do the gravy jobs of siting in air conditioned cab with brand new machinery and not get your hands dirty yep you gotta farm thousands of acres of small margins cause most other farmers only want to do that too.

2. The government does not own my farm nor do they take away my production.

3. Winter does present challenges but it provides a seasonal break in an otherwise hectic occupation. Also helps control the life cycles on bugs, weeds, disease etc. The spectrum of pests we have is pretty small compared to most warmer regions.

4. Proximity to tide water is a challenge but amazingly with all the complaints we have of our rail system freight rates are actually pretty cheap, doesn't cost much more to get product from prairies to coast than from farm to elevator.

5. Weather is an issue everywhere just different. Ours is at least somewhat predictable. Remember the Alberta saying is you dont like the weathet just wait 5 minutes. If you know a place on the world with no wind and perfect weather let me know I'm in.

6. The government is not hostile to farmers, but unchecked they can certainly make our lives and industry more difficult to prosper. Any problems from government in Canada is more of a problem with democracy in General, on paper sounds great but in reality it is lacking.

IF it's that bad to farm here how come it's so hard to buy or rent land?

[AlbertaFarmer5]

GDR, you took the words right out of my mouth(keyboard).

SF3, somehow, both of us, although farming in the hardest place in the world managed to escape to Hawaii for vacation, and I don't begrudge anyone for doing so. What I noticed while there was a lot of other Canadian farmers, and US farmers, and retired farmers from the same places. What I didn't see was any farmers from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Sudan, Congo, Bolivia, Syria or any of the other Gardens of Eden (when compared to western Canada) vacationing in Hawaii. Not sure why that would be, perhaps they are staying at more upscale places compared to what we could afford, coming from such a disadvantage?

[mustardman]

Saskfarmers Problems are what's known as "First World Problems"
Crying that your ice cream is too cold , bout the same

[SASKFARMER3]

Again boys the chance of getting a crop in canada and a great payday is tough. Sad very few farmers from any where in the world win at the game all have same problem.

Ever see a home of our supplier in any of these places.

Yea third world problems.