Farmers and ranchers were interviewed over the past year for a mental health project organized by Saskatchewan Polytechnic and its research chair for rural health. Patient-advisors, with a background in agriculture, conducted those interviews.

Shari Laventure is a grain marketing specialist with Cargill and was one of those advisors. Laventure volunteered for the project as a way to help cope with the loss of her brother to suicide in 2015. She says no one knew he was struggling until it was too late.

There are lots of difficulties associated with being a rancher in a drought year. But many producers do not know about how high nitrate levels in feed can affect the cow’s ability to absorb vitamin A ...and its implications to calves. Dr. John Campbell with the University of Saskatchewan is a professor of large animal clinical sciences. He shared some of those concerns at the recent Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference.

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The federal government revealed plans to rebate carbon taxes paid by farmers in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in the Dec. 14 fiscal update. It was promised, in the lead-up to the federal budget in spring 2021, that it would refund an estimated $100 million to farmers in provinces without federally-approved carbon pricing systems in 2021. Many farmers argue the rebate has fallen short of what producers spend and farmers need more details on how the payment rates were set.

Retired agronomist Thom Weir says there are problems with the way the tax is applied to farmers.

The faba bean plant is high in protein, well-suited to growing in colder climates and capable of virtually eliminating the need for fertilizer. But like many other crops - fabas suffered with the drought conditions which impacted crop production in 2021. We're going to take a closer look at faba beans.

Chuck Penner with Leftfield Commodity Research will talk about last year's faba crop and give some projection for 2022.

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A popular agricultural trade show in Saskatchewan returned after a pandemic break and farmers as well as the agriculture industry welcomed the opportunity to meet face to face again. Scott Lessmeister is the western regional sales manager for Brandt Agricultural products.

He'll share what he heard from farmers who are preparing for spring seeding.


Farm Credit Canada economists have created a top five list of trends to watch for in 2022.

JP Gervais said the possibility of increased interest rates will be a major concern for producers.

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The 2021 growing season was one of challenges and successes at the Discovery Farm which is adjacent to the Ag in Motion site near Langham, Saskatchewan.

The Discovery Farm has released its 2021 Field Report which covers over 20 research and demonstration projects. Many of those projects are conducted in conjunction with industry partners. Blake Weiseth is the applied research lead at the Discovery Farm. He is also the agricultural research chair at Sask Polytechnic in Saskatoon.

He talks about the past year and the impact the drought had on their work.

Canary seed is well known as a bird seed, but it will soon be marketed as a health food product for consumers as well. In addition, the human food product will have a different name.

Adelle Buettner is the general manager of the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan. She will share the change in marketing and the processing that's happening in the province.

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Wheat prices were, at one point, up over 50 per cent September 2021 over the September previous according to Statistics Canada's latest report. The federal agency said it was the largest increase in the grains index since 2008. Strong demand and tightening supplies in Western Canada strengthened both wheat and barley prices.

Farmer Bill Gehl is wrapping up an eight-year stint as a past chair and director with the Saskatchewan Wheat development commission. He puts the wheat prices in perspective with rising costs rising and reduced production and he believes its too early to worry about soil moisture for spring seeding.

Pork producers are cautiously optimistic about the coming year. Global pork supplies are lower due to African Swine Fever---with China continuing to be most affected. Substantially higher feed prices will have an impact on pork production.

And there haven't been any significant disease issues found in Canada and countries. Florian Possberg is a partner with Polar Pork Farms.  He shares his thoughts on the coming year.

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For this episode I've picked two of my favourite stories from the archives and combined them into a unique episode.

First, Bob Tosh, a farm and family advisor with MNP. The process of transitioning the farm from one generation to the next is a long and difficult process.

What makes it so difficult is each family farm business is unique and no single approach works for everyone.

Bob will discuss the roadblocks, the importance of being heard, the difference between succession planning and estate planning and the first steps in getting the conversation started.

Control your money so it does not control you.

Vanessa Stockbrugger is a former investment banker on Toronto's Bay Street who went on to found and run Womencents. She says having more money does not necessarily fix things - instead, people need a strategy or action plan to achieve their financial goals.

But what happens when that business is a farm. To reduce stress, she says people must have power and control over their finances. 

Vanessa discusses strategies for dealing with some of the big decisions including when to save, when to spend and when to pay down debt.

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The current estimate for the drought reduced canola crop is 12.8 million tonnes . . . but those numbers could change. Market analyst Mike Jubinville is projecting Canadian canola exports will be less than half of the usual 10 million tonnes. He explains how this will affect the canola crushing industry which is very important this country.

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association has developed a 12-point plan to help producers following the devastating 2021 drought. The SSGA says it appreciates the federal/provincial Agri-Recovery program . . . which could amount to nearly 300 million dollars for Saskatchewan. But it adds additional measures are needed to safeguard producers into the next growing season.

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Grocery Prices are Rising. But the farmers' share continues to shrink.

National Farmers Union Vice President Stewart Wells says corporate processors and retailers are the ones benefiting.

Wells will explain consumers need to know that less and less of the money they spend on food actually makes it back to the farmer and retail food prices are high because meat packers, other large processors, and big retailers are taking ever larger shares.

Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers were announced at a special event recently. Jenny Butcher and Wes Kunz run a dairy operation in the Brantford, Ontario region.

Raymond and Tracey Bredenhoff are from Abbotsford, BC. and have a 40-thousand broiler per cycle chicken operation and are also the largest distributors of Canadian grown hops.

We'll hear from both families about winning the award and the successes and challenges they've faced this year.

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There is a growing disparity along the beef supply chain . . . with consumers paying more at the front end and cow/calf producers getting less money on the back end.

Throw in high feed costs and the threat of a strike at Cargill's High River Alberta Beef Processing Plant . . . and there is a lot of dis-satisfaction on the farm. Livestock producer and chair of the Alberta Beef Producers Melanie Wowk will talk about some of those concerns and why she thinks the cattle price cycle is broken.

The labor shortage facing agriculture is limiting the sector's growth potential and causing some operations to question whether they can continue to operate. The labor crunch faced by Canadian agriculture is examined as part of an article posted to the Manitoba Pork Council website and distributed through Manitoba newspapers.

Manitoba Pork General manager Cam Dahl will share his thoughts on the problem and discuss a recent Canadian Agricultural Resources Council survey last year that showed 40 percent of agricultural business had not met their staffing requirements and the possibility of over 135,000 open positions by the end of the decade.

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Ask any farmer - it doesn’t matter what the commodity prices are if you have no crop to sell. Those short supplies have meant record commodity prices.

Neil Townsend of FarmLink Marketing Solutions says there is going to be very high prices this winter on canola, wheat, and barley. Neil will share some thoughts on what to expect in early 2022.

An outspoken advocate and dedicated researcher on innovations and agriculture has been named the 2021 Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan Champion. Dr. Stuart Smyth has been vocal on social media and outspoken advocate correcting misinformation about agriculture.

Stuart will share why he feels so strongly about why we should be speaking the truth around the industry and what he has shared with his students these past 15 years.

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