Will carbon pricing mean an increase in farm income?

As the federal government gets ready to increase the carbon tax on April 1st, we are hearing a lot from Canadians, including farmers. And, rightly so. As farmers, we view the carbon tax as a direct hit to our bottom line. But, I’m not writing…

Running a successful farming operation: Myths vs Facts

I can't tell you how many times I've heard these sayings and phrases from people I meet while doing business, traveling and speaking at agriculture events in Canada and the U.S. We've heard them for so many years, some of us foolishly believe…

Delicate balance: a new approach to fertilizer use in Canada

It’s an important time in Canadian agriculture. A pandemic and the war in Ukraine have proven to many just how important our domestic food supply is. Farmers are being asked to ramp up production, supply more food for our growing population,…

How much do you ACTUALLY know about your soil?

People always ask me how much I know about the soil on our farm, and my answer is: I know more with every passing year. Together, Dad and I have farmed about 50 crops since 1978 and, over the last five years, we are finally starting to understand…

Family farms still need to focus on culture

As we approach Family Day Weekend in many provinces, it seems to be a great time to talk a bit about family and farm culture. Like many, we run a family farm in Saskatchewan. It was started by my grandfather and then taken over by my dad,…

First Canola, what next? Expanding Canada’s value added processing industry

There was another positive announcement for Canada’s agriculture industry recently. As Canada’s (maybe even North America’s) largest canola producer, it makes sense that Saskatchewan is becoming a central hub for canola crush facilities. The…

Where Canada’s ag tech industry should focus and why

When John Deere recently unveiled its first autonomous tractor, Twitter lit up with comments from farmers, tech enthusiasts and everyone in between. Tweets ranged from those who believe it will dramatically help with labour shortages and be…

Ag tech companies must consider the financial concerns of farmers

As an advisor with Emmertech, a Saskatchewan-based ag-tech venture fund, I get to see the latest ideas and proposed solutions entrepreneurs are pitching to industry. It’s exciting to see companies from all across Canada vying for funding…

The Power of Network

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the annual AAPEX (association of agricultural production executives) meeting, which is the alumni peer group that producers can attend after completing TEPAP (the executive program of agricultural producers)…