The biggest issues facing farmers ?

[Sheepwheat]

Mother nature is by far the biggest wild card in farming.Always has been always will be.

That and the genetic lottery plays a pretty darn enormous role as well. In fact, it for many, completely allows an overcoming of weather!

Just the way it is. No, I ain’t jealous, I simply see things as they are.

[Dr Tone]

Since we farm extremely unforgiving wet land, I’m fine with no more rain. It hasn’t rained a significant amount in over a month and we are still working around wet holes. That’s the definition of “swamp”.

[Austrian Economics]

The biggest issue facing farmers is the serial collapse in interest rates and the rapidly escalating land prices that this brings. You will need higher and higher crop yields just to keep your profit margins from falling faster than they otherwise would.

[furrowtickler]

The biggest issue facing farmers is the serial collapse in interest rates and the rapidly escalating land prices that this brings. You will need higher and higher crop yields just to keep your profit margins from falling faster than they otherwise would.

True , but yields are 90% a function of weather ... Ag industry for some reason can’t grasp that simple concept. Adding more inputs does not automatically translate into higher yields
Ask half the farmers in Sask this year after that hot dry 3 weeks .
All the inputs in the world don’t help when Mother Nature caps yields .
I hear what your saying , but the majority of us farm in a limited environment... moisture , frost , hail and many other factors limit production every year .
1 year out of 8 Give growing conditions to remotely max yields in most of the prairies.
Swinging for home runs yearly will put you out faster than any other factor . Seen it first hand for 30 years here .
There are pockets that are very consistent, but I doubt it would represent more than 20% of western Canada.
It is a slippery slope ... and not disagreeing with you at all .

[Blaithin]

Biggest issue I see facing farmers; Old age.

Majority are aging out and through a variety of circumstances, younger aren’t coming in/staying in.

At the risk of derailing the thread - I see it as not the weather, not the prices, but punitive government policy.

The weather and prices change constantly - they have since the beginning of agriculture. So we roll with it - might get badly bruised and battered but we know what we're dealing with...

But when government creates policy that puts us at a disadvantage to producers of other countries, and create regulations that prevent us from producing to our capacity, and put barriers up to further development, then we are ALL totally screwed.

And that's what we've got in Ottawa today.

Sorry bucket, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate politics from food production.

You sound like the Brits I know, upset with their post Brexit government possibly allowing in “inferior” products raised with methods illegal for them to use. Coincidentally it’s our products under discussion.

[Blaithin]

I figured, what better way to gauge the biggest issues facing farmers, than to read through the most popular posts on an ag marketing forum.
Here is what I have concluded are the most important...
....
Donald Trump
Finding a husband for Blaithin
Donald Trump
UN
....

Really? That’s so popular it makes the list?!

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Really? That’s so popular it makes the list?!

Needed to have something humorous to break the depressing tone of this thread so far.
Doubted anyone would read that far.

[Blaithin]

Well I’m glad you think my spinster state is humorous ðŸ˜ðŸ˜

Maybe that’s the biggest issues facing farming today.

They let people like me get away 😆

[ajl]

That and the genetic lottery plays a pretty darn enormous role as well. In fact, it for many, completely allows an overcoming of weather!

Just the way it is. No, I ain’t jealous, I simply see things as they are.

There is actually a simple solution to the problem. If interest rates were ever allowed to go up as free market forces are want to do, then equity matters again. It would also enable small operators to grow as you could work, save money and purchase assets allowing anyone who wants to, to pursue opportunities. As is only the BTO and old hoarders control the industry today as they are recipients of the largest wealth transfer in history: from savers to borrowers. Lots of BTO got saved by the covid money print.

[rumrocks]

Biggest issue I see facing farmers; Old age.

Majority are aging out and through a variety of circumstances, younger aren’t coming in/staying in.



You sound like the Brits I know, upset with their post Brexit government possibly allowing in “inferior” products raised with methods illegal for them to use. Coincidentally it’s our products under discussion.

Just curious, what are some of the Canadian products that don't pass the Brits approval.

[Blaithin]

Just curious, what are some of the Canadian products that don't pass the Brits approval.

I wouldn’t say it’s their approval so much, unless you mean laws vs personal approval. I don’t think the average person or farmer cares either way. Just the farmers are (expectedly) mad that “cheap imports” could potentially flood their market and they have no course to compete as legally they aren’t allowed to use such production methods.

Things like:

GMO crops.
Hormones in beef.
Chlorine washed for chickens.
Certain herbicides.

Even though they’ve Brexited, their government has stated they’re still keeping the “higher standards” of EU farming practices. Sounds good to the public, less great for the farmers if it hobbles them against imports.

[rumrocks]

I wouldn’t say it’s their approval so much, unless you mean laws vs personal approval. I don’t think the average person or farmer cares either way. Just the farmers are (expectedly) mad that “cheap imports” could potentially flood their market and they have no course to compete as legally they aren’t allowed to use such production methods.

Things like:

GMO crops.
Hormones in beef.
Chlorine washed for chickens.
Certain herbicides.

Even though they’ve Brexited, their government has stated they’re still keeping the “higher standards” of EU farming practices. Sounds good to the public, less great for the farmers if it hobbles them against imports.

Very similar to Ottawa allowing oil imports from Saudi and Venezuela, while the oil field and all those who are unemployed in western Canada, take it on the chin.