What would you do?

[Hamloc]

On the plus side I got your attention on the minus some missed my point so I will clarify a bit. Choice of 10 dollar canola was related to 100 dollar oil and now 36 dollar oil, just wanted to put revenue loss into a farmers perspective. As for my intense dislike of the NDP sorry my Dad raised me to be self reliant and dislike big government.

Maybe I worry to much about what is coming but they are finalizing a legaly binding agreement in Paris to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 Celsius. The present carbon tax and carbon emission plan put out by the Alberta NDP isn't enough of a reduction to even meet a theoretical rise of 2 Celsius. So what do you see coming. A little history, I listened to the president of the socialist causes of the NDP one day on my favourite talk radio station, he proposed government buying the oil sands and shutting it down. He also said they comprised 40% of the membership of the federal NDP. What does this have to do with Alberta? Well Brian Topp Notley's chief of staff ran for the leadership of the federal NDP and has worked in the federal NDP for 30 years and Anne McGrath Notley's new deputy chief of staff was president of the federal NDP 2006-2009, she even ran for the communist party in Alberta in 1984 in Edmonton. So am I worried you bet. I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg. Call it fear mongering if you want, forewarned is firearmed. I see higher carbon taxes coming than already proposed and I don't see that as positive. Have a good day.

[Braveheart]

"Forewarned is firearmed"? Typo or ridiculously funny!? Hahaha!

[Braveheart]

Farmers have safety nets (crop insurance, ag stab, Agri invest). Oil companies don't. Yes, oil companies have shareholders, but those shares could potentially become worthless. Farmland will always have value.

[Hamloc]

Oh shit was supposed to read forewarned is forearmed sorry. Eyesight isn't what it used to be lol.

[grassfarmer]

You beat me to it Braveheart - I was going to suggest it was the Rebel media slant on an old saying lol.

[tweety]

Actually you are all wrong, its like canola dropping from 100$ a bushel to 30$. Profits in oil companies used to be obscene, now they are just kinda low to normal based on management skills.

A well run company is still doing just fine.

[vvalk]

Don't forget $10 canola is in Canadian dollars and $37 oil is in US dollars

[LEP]

Tweety that is BS that companies are doing fine. Once you have a high sunk cost there is no getting away from it.

Buy all the land you farm for $2200 an acre and try and make it on $10 canola. Won't happen.

I didn't agree with the spending orgy in the oil patch but I have too many friends affected by this not to be a little sympathetic.

The patch made it very difficult for me to operate on the farm, but it did pay a lot of bills provincially and federally.

Low oil prices would have caused a big hole federally without pretty boy whipping out his cheque book to show off. I expect we will be looking at $15B deficits for a few years.

Without the oil patch cash cow they will start knocking on everybody's door for a few more scheckles.

[checking]

No one should worry about the oil companies. That is misdirection. They have effectively beaten their suppliers down with cuts, not once, but in at least three visits to Calgary. All regretted by the suppliers, but accepted. Those firms kept their good workers, and pink slipped the ones that didn't belong here in the first place. The normal work is still getting done. The boom surplus wasn't normal, nor was the in migration for the Cons tax driving machine

[Ache4Acres]

The collateral damage is the big problem. Most Oil companies can do some serious belt tightening and survive at $35US oil = $50CA oil, but thecarnage in the world around them is unprecedented in generations. The welders, the engineers, the geologists, the local hotels and restaurants and going to suffer greatly. The entire economic ecosystem is built on excesses from high oil prices.

Massive deflationary impact as this evolves. There will very likely be a government bailout happening soon. They need to get more cash into the system.