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Friday Crop Report on a Thursday!

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    Friday Crop Report on a Thursday!

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    Well, the weather on the weekend gave us another shot of spring rain so the total for the year is 1/2 inch as of today. Grass is not counting snow showers because its cold and the pellets blow away.

    The ground is back to freezing at night again but it seems some sloughs dropped a lot on Sunday and Monday after it warmed up so nice.

    Looks like lots of guys are staying the course. But the one famous farm has turned over as the previous renter has left the building. The new guys I wish luck as they have deeper pockets but rent would have to be the same as the others are paying and no special deal wink wink was had. It's the OTPF its this price or nothing. Others would have taken it.

    Lots of Snake oil salesman have been making the rounds this year and soil health is the big talked about point.

    Still, have my great visits with the Salesman from Rocky and Pattison but were staying the course and looking at a different plan for new or slightly new equipment if Deere and CIH don't get the price or programs in place. Need a drill maybe a week and they will have it.

    Farmer sales are higher than Dealer RB sales, watch next week.

    Cost of production is something I always like to look at on our farm and would tell my clients years ago watch your costs. Yes, we all know there is insurance where you just go seed and spray and fert to the max and your covered. Someone tell me they got a check that was actually what they thought it would be.

    Every farm is different with Cost of production some have everything paid for and use cash from their account. (no Line of credit). Some farms have minor opp ( line of Credit) or use the FCC programs. Some farms use Input Capital. Some farms have Chinese investors. Some farms have Canadian investors and some farms are on the edge and some this is the last year for them. All are different. But its about making money.

    Decided against driving one Rm over to the SE and taking on the 11 quarters. One is getting older and two with the shit show with Canola do I really want more grain in storage come fall. Next year will be very interesting, to say the least.

    This whole shit show reminds me of the 80s, where we just came off the great 1979 boom and life was but a dream. THen interest rates went to the moon and last was expensive and trade wars heated up and the USA and Europe protected their farmers and Canadians we were told sorry get more efficient or quit. We have too many of you anyway.

    Well, farmers were a smart breed back then we figured out direct seeding and one pass and changed for the better I feel. We cut way back on Fuel use. We cut back on equipment we needed. One good high clearance sprayer from the USA in the early 80s plus a nice new Flexicoil 5000 Air drill, Equipment like harrow packer bars and deep tillage were parked or sold off and wow the crops got better. I remember one farm we took over that was half and a half, the owner stopped by at harvest and said you guys get almost double what I grew on summer fallow.

    But now we get penalized by the Liberal gov for our hard work and are told were not helping with our carbon sinks etc. Kind of hard to take when your own government screws you.

    So most are finishing cleaning up grain contracts, Going to auction sales to look, kick tires, visit or buy as its a buyers market for good used Equipment. Most are going south as what a deal the Americans are getting off us.

    For our farm, the HRS is all cleaned and the Certified Brandon has arrived plus the Certified Copland to make Cargill happy on Purity even if we are 98%. Yes, Malt is a game.

    This week the plant is switched over to peas and were doing a small run of Yellows for ourselves. Yes, we are seeding peas but it's our smallest crop ever. Changing were we seed to fields a little further away and they haven't had peas for 15 to 20 years.

    Equipment that has been in town and repaired because I couldn't fit under the Cab to change two hoses and seals, Little to much time in Florida and about 15lbs overweight doesn't help. HAHAHAHA The Cab had to come off.

    Drills are out and in the yard, as its the year the discs are changed and coulters repaired. New hoses on a few lines and one crack found. Yes on the Bourg. Drill two will be replaced after this year.

    The sprayer is sitting in the shed as its too cold and too many projects still to get to.

    The farm information is added to Climate Field View and my order is set just haven't pushed the pay here with Visa price yet. Still doing research.

    Looking for 4 to 6 qyarters south of town if anyone is sick of their renter or wants a northern guy to stir up the pot. Yes, I was told years ago ill never cross the highway because I am the wrong nationality but hey we have gay pride parades and JT is our PM were everything is rosy so maybe a German/Ukranian blend might.

    Still snow on the Back roads as of yesterday.

    I can't believe how much bush was pushed in our area and how much land has been cleared for this year.

    So with seeding three weeks away north of the valley, I would say seeding intentions have not changed.

    4000 Canola down 1000

    Barley 500 not feed but malt.

    Peas 500 Yellows not green.

    5000 HRS unless trump shuts the southern border to the USA for HRS against Tariffs the Trudeau gov is thinking of adding to help the steel industry. No one did a check to see what industries would be affected by the line in Canada. Ah, someone send the Liberals some new crayons so they can work hard on this file.

    The canola shit show is going to continue and I would bet nothing will get decided at her court hearing in Early May. Nothing.

    I disagree with Errol the USA and China will get a deal. Because the only country in the world buying cheap Chinese shit is the USA in big quantities. Soy and Corn and Wheat will be flowing that way and shit products will be coming to the USA. If they ever switch those canola crush plants to Soy were Dead in the Water. Don't let your BS advisors tell you different.

    Playoff hockey is here and Yes I'm cheering for Tampa Bay. Got an email from a Woman who has tickets for playoff games as she and her husband and kids cant go. You would shit if I said the price vs Calgary playoff tickets.

    The flight down and parking at the game would be cheaper.

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    Maybe happy easter to Me.

    Anyway its 21 days till seeding and counting, May one is magic date for our are. Every time we seeded in April. Every Time it was a shitty crop.

    Have a great week if your buying equip its a great time to upgrade, or visiting with family and friends. But if someone in the group is sitting quite and making excuses as to no going or seems down. Maybe stop in and talk you never know.

    The guy on the videa that is posted says alot about farming. Big Corp makes the lion share and we do all the work for Peanuts if you dont beleive that your dreaming in Tec Colour. Were bottom feeders. Its got to change or were all done, them and us.

    #2
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    If anyone is still voting for Trudeau you really have to ask the question should an IQ exam be a requirement for voting in Canada.

    Really.

    But A liberal lawn sign will help you avoid certain neighbours on your block.

    Here is your sign.

    Comment


      #3
      -11 at night here, ground hard and cold
      This glowbull warming not working out very good here. Hopefully the carbon tax will help
      Toronto set a record for the most days with snow . A record means “of all times”
      For some of you that thought it was a pretty nice winter
      Mother nature gonna straighten the scammers out
      Someone needs to get a petition going to stop this payment of $12 m to his buddy
      Were about a month away here from seeding

      Comment


        #4
        Brother was up your way on the weekend and said yep its white and still snow.

        Ground froze good last night.

        Seeding three weeks away for us. South of the valley, I think two or sooner. it's way drier.

        Off to a big sale today.

        Comment


          #5
          Going to the RB one in norquay next week

          Comment


            #6
            RB has a busy day , 5 good farm sales plus the start of Grand Prairie.
            That’s a busy day for the hard core auction guys on the net lol.

            Comment


              #7
              Heading south today looking at some dirt again further away than I want to travel.

              Just asking for a friend anyone interested in changing guys let me know. ITs just about time to get serious again.

              Todays a good farm sales day. Have a few friends travelling to different ones. I think some deals will be had.

              Comment


                #8
                Inability to break above zero for the last two days. Cold east wind, brutal. Went sledding one last time yesterday. Tough to pick my way around finally. Good maple syrup year so far. Twice usual production so far. Ten days until lambing. Can’t wait. Best time of the year here.

                Not looking like the bees wintered well. Just like last year. Global warming and all.

                Hens Finally laying well after the winter slump.

                Impossible to guess when seeding will happen here. You never know, can’t pick a date with any certainty until the day before. Even then you never know. Look so forward to taking more grainland away from the parasites of commodity agriculture.

                Went for a long walk with my daughters to walk their horses up to the pasture yesterday. Am amazed at the beauty around us, the trees, the lakes, thankful I don’t push every stick to make more land for commodities no one wants. Thankful I am no longer obsessed with the dollar like I used to be.

                Phone call to flax buyer. “Hey can you take my March flax yet?” No not yet, looking like May.

                Phone call to lamb buyer. “Do you want to come pick up some lambs”. Yep I’ll be there tomorrow morning.

                Phone calls fromlamb buyers. “ Can we please get some lambs booked in for next week? We are all out of shishliki. “

                ‘Tis a peaceful easy feeling when you get to that point in life.

                Gotta go check my boiling sap, I think the next batch is getting close!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Sheepwheat View Post
                  Inability to break above zero for the last two days. Cold east wind, brutal. Went sledding one last time yesterday. Tough to pick my way around finally. Good maple syrup year so far. Twice usual production so far. Ten days until lambing. Can’t wait. Best time of the year here.

                  Not looking like the bees wintered well. Just like last year. Global warming and all.

                  Hens Finally laying well after the winter slump.

                  Impossible to guess when seeding will happen here. You never know, can’t pick a date with any certainty until the day before. Even then you never know. Look so forward to taking more grainland away from the parasites of commodity agriculture.

                  Went for a long walk with my daughters to walk their horses up to the pasture yesterday. Am amazed at the beauty around us, the trees, the lakes, thankful I don’t push every stick to make more land for commodities no one wants. Thankful I am no longer obsessed with the dollar like I used to be.

                  Phone call to flax buyer. “Hey can you take my March flax yet?” No not yet, looking like May.

                  Phone call to lamb buyer. “Do you want to come pick up some lambs”. Yep I’ll be there tomorrow morning.

                  Phone calls fromlamb buyers. “ Can we please get some lambs booked in for next week? We are all out of shishliki. “

                  ‘Tis a peaceful easy feeling when you get to that point in life.

                  Gotta go check my boiling sap, I think the next batch is getting close!

                  Why don't you post more often???? ....we could all use the "serenity now" more often....

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Just off the phone with a few people who went to Ottawa.

                    We’re f$$ked.

                    Those eastern idiots are so confused on the canola file. Some actually believe it’s about science.

                    No meeting have been planned their not sure how to go about talking about this situation.

                    Other priorities, not sure what that is you would think a $27 billion industry.

                    Trudeau a personal day.

                    If you wait long enough the problem goes away.

                    We are f$&ked farmers.

                    Oh but it’s Harpers fault.

                    Idiots in charge wake up western canada.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by bucket View Post
                      Why don't you post more often???? ....we could all use the "serenity now" more often....
                      Agree, nice to have a change of pace on here once in a while!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by bucket View Post
                        Why don't you post more often???? ....we could all use the "serenity now" more often....
                        I dont post a lot because I feel a misfit. I feel misunderstood. Things that interest others just doesn’t interest me much. I am not a typical farmer.

                        For over 20 years, I fought against wealthy neighbors to get more land to become more efficient, I plowed the inputs into the soil. For a few years, I made some progress. I was growing 50 bushel canola long before it became vogue. Neighbors used to ask me for tips, what did I put on that crop, etc..

                        Then the brutal wet years hit. Very nearly finished me. High inputs, high yield expectations. From zero seeded acres a couple of years, to 6 bushel canola and 4 bushel canaryseed yields, I had to make a change to survive. Trying to compete with others grandparents land equity, while buying land with little equity, was not possible. Took me too long to see it.

                        So I dropped a third of my land base. Most of my rented land. Kept some that is owned by the kindest person I know. Dropped the stuff with the more belligerent types. Was fortunate to have bought 7 ewes to see what I thought of animal farming. In the poor years, I was growing my flock, started seeding down land.

                        The end result has been a calmer me. A less stressed me. A me who finds so little interest in growing something I can’t control. The weather, the markets, the timing of sales, it all has kicked me in the groin too much.

                        So I find that though I peruse this site daily, multi daily in fact, there is little here that I find very interesting anymore. The bad years tore my heart out, frustrated me, set me back a decade or more, but set me on a happier pathway in life. So I am thankful for those rough years. They taught me before it was too late that the path I was on was one of stress and unforgiving disaster.

                        The new me can take a few hours to go for a hike with the girls, to tap maples and cook down the sap. To screw around with egg layers, turkeys, bees. The old me would not have done so, it was too stressed and wound up like a fiddle string.

                        It has allowed me to really live. To REALLY live.

                        I encourage anyone who is wound tight as I was, to realize life can be more than that. Farming has more than one model. Bucking the trend is doable and rewarding. That it doesn’t matter what the neighbors think. One of the best part is being back in control of my destiny, by raising something madly wanted. To set my own prices, to time my own deliveries. If I screw it all up, I will blame myself, not govt, not the railways, nutrien, voters, Richardson, jay dee.

                        I am simply free now. The little I still grain farm is just more fun, little pressure. I have way too much equipment per acre now and I love it! Lol I can afford the moderate inputs on my own dime, graze the sheep after harvest for weed control and fertility reasons.

                        I don’t fit in, do I?
                        Last edited by Sheepwheat; Apr 11, 2019, 12:05.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Sheepwheat, there's more than one way to skin a cat, do what works best for you and don't worry about what other people think. Money isn't the only measure of success! We haven't grown our base since 2004, alot of other people are forging ahead even by just renting more acres, I don't have to and don't care what the "progressives" think. In my "simplemindedness" I "think" I'm doing "ok".
                          Last edited by farmaholic; Apr 11, 2019, 12:19.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I think bucket may have been sarcastic, but I do like to see posts from folks like you, sheepwheat, who are doing things differently. I don't know why everything has to be such a sh**-throwing fest on here. People are allowed to have different opinions and different business methods, which will create some debate, but doesn't have to be a fight. Peace and love man!

                            We're just a commercial grain operation, and smallish, though in a high-producing area. All involved in our operation work off the farm. I've been trying to think of something that could diversify and add to my income to replace my job some day. Sheep is an option. Not sure on the economics of it and I know nothing about them but we had cattle when I was a kid so not completely new to livestock. Just hard to justify getting into such a labour-intensive sector while also grain farming and holding down the day job. I can't see sheep replacing my off-farm income. But I like learning about the options.

                            FWIW I like seeing your weekly reports too, SF3. I'm not friends with the BTOs around here so it's interesting to see what's going on inside your head. Interesting, and maybe a bit scary, too! haha!

                            I would ask you, SF3 with all that's going on, you're not eager to pick up land far out, but are you still wanting to expand close by? Will you buy land within 10-20 miles at current market prices? I heard 2nd hand that one BTO has a philosophy of push more than ever to pick up new land to cover the smaller margins going forward, rather than easing back to try to limit potential losses. Not sure what makes more sense. I guess he's optimistic that it won't get to the point where we're all losing money.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Sheepwheat you are definitely not alone in your situation. We tried scaling back the cows here and pushing more grain acres ( also with wealthy neighbors and a coal mine next door) and Mother Nature showed her ugly side for a few years and took all the fun and money out of it. We’re similar to you with growing barley, corn, and alfalfa for cow chow. If the only super b’s that show up here from now on deliver fert I’m fine with that as soon as last years green ugly canola finds a home. We spent $30k on tools to make fencing easier (hoe-pac, page wire unroller, and a cordless staple gun) this winter and dad just finished a 1/4 mile with his buddy and they actually enjoyed it.

                              Just got a little rain here and the grass is shooting up like crazy. Got two calves in 6 hours so now there’s five and I guess we’re calving even if they’re 9 days early.



                              Latest arrival out of a heifer.



                              Corner office view today.

                              Most guys count down to seeding but I prefer the countdown to grass time. 45 days hopefully and that’s the best sight for me is seeing them heading out to pasture.

                              If the weather holds we’ll be making dust in a week or two possibly after plowing some pasture water line in first.

                              Good luck everyone this year🍀

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