Livestock vs. crop margins and a slow start to harvest
Welcome to this week’s edition of RealAg on the Weekend with Shaun Haney!
On today’s show, Haney talks about data from the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index showing how crop producers face tight margins and iffy financial sentiment, while livestock operations are riding a wave of strong margins. Also on today’s show, Haney talks about the late start to harvest and Lyndsey Smith joins the show to speak with Page Newton of CANTERRA SEEDS for a spotlight interview!
Thoughts on something we talked about on the show? Connect with host Shaun Haney at shaney@realagriculture.com, on X/Twitter by using the hashtag #RealAgRadio, or give us a shout on the response line, 1-855-776-6147.
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Escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States continue to create uncertainty for the North American agricultural sector. Divergent narratives from both sides of the border have left industry stakeholders looking for clear signals amidst the policy noise, particularly regarding tariffs and supply chain disruptions. In this interview, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney speaks...
Read more » I'm Shaun Haney and this is RealAg on the Weekend. Let's get real and get connected with the week that was in Canadian agriculture. RealAg on the Weekend starts now. Welcome to RealAg on the Weekend. I'm your host Shaun Haney of RealAgriculture.com. Hope you had yourselves a great week. Hasn't been a great week from a harvest perspective as we still continue to see a lot of rain. This is not the time we want rain, not at all, actually. Where was this in July? We'll get to that in a second. Today on the show, we got a great lineup for you here today. We're going to talk about some of our Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index data when it comes to the difference between how crop farmers feel about their financial realities versus the livestock sector. And some interesting gaps and divergence there for sure to chat about. We've— we're also going to hear from Paige Newton from Canterra Seeds as well in a product spotlight. If you have any feedback on today's show, you can send me an email, shaney@realagriculture.com, or you can call the RealAg feedback line. I'd like to hear from more of you. Write this number down, 855-776-6147. Harvest is a slow go. It, it, you know, you go back 2 weeks ago, it kind of felt like this was gonna be one of those harvests because of how dry things were that, you know, we could be wrapped up the bulk of Western Canadian harvest for the majority of the grains except for, you know, maybe sunflowers in Manitoba kind of be done by the end of September. And now we're getting this just weather pattern that has presented a lot of moisture at a time of the year where we do not want it. And so if, if you are somebody that's living in the city, you're like, oh, the farmer's gonna be happy. They are not happy. Now ranchers are probably happy from a grass perspective. That, that is a benefit. And grass conditions are also an important component of agriculture. So I think ranchers will take it. But from a crop farming perspective, less than ideal, less than ideal, not good. And if you go back to the midpoint of July, and remember farmers, 70% of them were saying good to excellent growing conditions on the '26 crop. There was a lot of optimism about yield. Okay. And but the caveat to that was we need one more shot of rain.
Okay.
And for the most part, we didn't really get it. Okay, it didn't happen. And so the yield projections that a lot of farmers would have had in the early part of July because of the growing conditions that had been pretty good up till that point, we're at a reduced state now. And it's going to have an impact on some of the farm revenue. Now the markets have definitely tried to fill some of those gaps. We, you know, if you look across the board, you know, in the last year wheat futures probably up 25%, canola is up over 30% compared to where it was a year ago. So things are, you know, from a pricing perspective, things are a lot better. Okay, but the yields are, they're kind of disappointing. And that's for sure on pulses, what I've heard from a lot of farmers out there, and that was kind of expected. Cereals coming in average-ish, right? And this is very broad brush. There's different conditions depending on where you are on the prairies. I think canola is the one that a lot of people are kind of concerned about because of all that heat that we had in July during the flowering period. It's feeling a little bit more like the '24 situation in 2024 where yields really disappointed us, and it's kind of the same year that we've had. 25 great yields, surprises to the upside. That is, that has not been the case here in, in 2026 based on what I'm hearing from a lot of you. Look at the Saskatchewan crop report as an example. It, you know, last week— this is reading right from the report— last week began with predominantly dry conditions across much of Saskatchewan, allowing producers to make harvest progress. Many regions received rainfall and localised hail later in the week, That's the other part of this, but just a side note, we were getting hailstorms. You know, I was talking to a friend yesterday who said, you know, once it— I just, maybe my memory is incorrect, but once we got past August long weekend, we were kind of out of that hail belt, right? We're kind of out of that, the hail season, I should say. We're getting hail in September. What is up with this? Oh my goodness. Significant precipitation was reported in many areas last week. The Prairie Rose area recorded the highest rainfall at 136 millimetres, followed by the Fertile Belt area at 125. The Langenburg and Sassman areas also received 113 mils and 96 mils respectively. This is not good. Now, this is good for topsoil and moisture, but not good for crops. Not good for crops. It is not good at all. When we look at— okay, so current provincial average yield estimates are 52 bushels per acre for hard red spring, 44 bushels for durum, 94 bushels for oats, 74 bushels for barley, 41 bushels for triticale, 38 bushels for canola. Yeah, 38 bushel canola, we'll see if it works out to that, but a lot of concern when we are way behind the averages. In terms of harvest progress for sure compared to some of those 5-year averages that are out there. So that is going to have somewhat of an impact on farmer profitability without question, right? And this is the time of the year where everyone's working hard to get stuff in the bin. We also got to keep our minds on some of the farm management stuff as it applies to— there's a lot of volatility right now in the commodity markets.
Yeah.
We've got some fall decisions to make when it comes to fertiliser and things like that, so there's a lot happening from a decision-making standpoint now as we try to conclude the '26 crop, but we also got to be thinking about that '27 crop as well. There's still a lot of concern about some of the input costs. Diesel prices, they have not receded, they are very strong, and that's a significant cost, especially during harvest time. Without question. Fertiliser prices obviously remain a major cost, and machinery as well. A lot of challenges right now. We did see a spike in the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index results from July. There is improved optimism. I think a lot of that optimism is related to the fact that there is some bullishness in these markets. And we're seeing, you know, as I mentioned, some of those— when we see a 30% increase in some of these commodity prices from where we were a year ago, and there is in the main crop, which we don't really necessarily talk about a lot in the prairies, corn, which is kind of the— that is, you know, corn is king, as the saying goes, that the direction of corn really does impact the overall ag commodity complex. And there's a lot of bullish signs there currently. And the question is, and some of the decision-making that farmers have, is how much inventory do I sell into some of these rallies based on where I think prices are going? And, and, you know, there is options to, to, you know, sell some of the physical crop and, you know, maybe participate in any sort of upside from a futures or options perspective. So there's a lot of stuff happening right now on the farm from a decision-making But yeah, yields, we want them to be higher. They're, they're coming in a little bit disappointing, and harvest progress is really grinding because of some of this untimely rain from Mother Nature. We're gonna talk about some more Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index data when we come back. You're listening to RealAg on the Weekend.
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Keep up with the latest in Canadian agriculture at RealAgriculture.com. through daily newsletters and cheque out our YouTube channel. Thanks for joining us in the RealAg community as we continue to cover and serve North American agriculture. Hi, I'm Bernard Tobin, host of the Soybean School on RealAgriculture.com. Throughout the year on the Soybean School, we'll bring you timely agronomic video content from planting to harvest, from the latest agronomic research to the latest in production technology. Cheque out our massive video library on YouTube, RealAgriculture.com, or download the audio podcast versions wherever you get your podcasts. The Soybean School is brought to you by Maizex Seeds and Lallemand Plant Care. If you're involved in the agriculture industry, it's important to stay informed on all the latest issues affecting your business. At RealAgriculture.com, we offer fast, reliable news, information, and insights To help you keep on top of all of the latest in Canadian agriculture, visit RealAgriculture.com and sign up for our free daily newsletter covering everything from news, agronomy, animal agriculture, and much more. Visit RealAgriculture.com/subscribe today. You're back on RealAg on the Weekend. I'm your host, Shaun Haney of RealAgriculture.com. Make sure you sign up. For our Real Agriculture email updates that come out. You can make sure you get signed up for our free newsletters for West— the Western Canadian Prairies. We got cattle, we got machinery, ag policy, farm management. You can do that by going to RealAgriculture.com/subscribe. So this week I was digging into some of the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index data and kind of really digging into some of the demographics and What we've seen is across Canadian agriculture, there's a stark financial split that has emerged between farm sectors. Now, while crop producers face tight margins and iffy financial sentiment, livestock operations are really riding a wave of strong margins that's driving a real willingness to invest, and we have some data behind that. So the July results of the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index reveal just how far apart these 2 worlds have, have kind of drifted. And we've seen very good ranch profits over the past couple years, very strong. We've seen beef prices be very strong, and, and we've got tight supplies. And there's, you know, there's been a lot of talk about the beef markets here as of late. Grain farmers report a subdued financial outlook with their current Farm Financial Performance Index standing at a cautious 72. Remember, this is on a scale of 0 to 200, so 72 is pessimistic about their current financial state. Squeezed by elevated input costs, like we talked about in the first segment, soft commodity markets, although that has been kind of changing, and uncertain global trade dynamics, over a third of crop producers state their operation is worse off financially than a year ago. While good growing conditions across much of the country have supported yields, excellent harvests alone have not been enough to offset some of these bottom line pressures. And that's— this ties very much into our previous conversation. Conversely, livestock operators are experiencing a starkly different reality. The confidence index for current farm financial performance among livestock producers reached 100, while their outlook on livestock margins surged a staggering positive on the index to a 174. 174 out of 200. A sweeping 87% of livestock farmers report positive margin expectations over the next 12 months, driven by strong cattle market prices and robust demand and supply managed sectors, right? We're— we are seeing strong— if you look at the, the quest for protein from the consumer, dairy is one of the winners. Right? We, we've moved, we've flipped from where we didn't know what we were going to do with all these skim proteins coming out of dairy. Everyone was talking about butterfat, and now all of a sudden, you know, protein is very much in vogue from the consumer sentiment or consumer perspective. You can go down the grocery store aisle and go through some of those middle aisles on packaged goods, and everyone's talking about, you know, protein, protein, protein, protein. Just look at some of the labelling that we, that we see. So this divergence extends beyond just basic accounting. It, it shapes long-term planning and investment confidence. Livestock producers show a significantly higher willingness to make major farm investments such as upgrading buildings, buying equipment, or purchasing land. Their capital investment index stands at a 125 compared to conservative index of just 69 among crop-only operations. So if you were a crop-only farmer, On a scale of 0 to 200, you're a 69, whereas livestock's at a 125. Now, while crop producers hold back on capital outlays to preserve liquidity, livestock farmers are actively reinvesting their gains to expand some of the capacity that they have in, in their operations. Among livestock producers, there are differences, as 54% of supply-managed say now is a good time to invest, while 45% of non-supply-managed farmers feel the same. So there is a bit of a— there is a little bit of a 9 percentage difference, 9-point difference between supply managed and beef or pork producers. As the season progresses, livestock profitability continues to act as a crucial anchor for overall national farmer sentiment. However, the divide highlights a dual-track agricultural economy right now where sector-specific dynamics dictating profitability are creating 2 completely different farm financial storeys within the country broadly. Okay, so this is something that shouldn't necessarily be any sort of a surprise to you. And what I'm kind of watching here between now and the end of the year or the next 12 months is although ranchers or livestock producers are identifying, you know, they're a little bit more optimistic on making capital purchases like land and buildings and equipment and things like that. Anecdotally, talking to a lot of ranchers, that's maybe not— they're not actually executing on that. And one of the challenges in talking to a lot of ranchers is there is concern about how long this good ride will last. This is one of the challenges when it comes to, are ranchers going to retain heifers to rebuild the herd? It's the same sort of question because we've seen beef prices go, you know, that has been the real commodity storey. And, you know, the last 3 years, I don't know how many times I've had conversations with cattle analysts talking about, you know, how long can this last? When does the consumer sort of push back? Right, and so that's kind of weighing on the minds, and so we'll have to see if there's a bit of an execution there. I think that's something to definitely watch going forward. On the positive side though, if you look at our Farmer Sentiment Index, there is a lot more optimism out there across the board. Okay, so typically We have seen very pessimistic results in terms of, hey, will the next 12 months for the Canadian agricultural economy be good times or bad times? Very negative. I think it's like in the 30s. This last month, I think it was in the 70s. It's still negative, but that's a pretty substantial increase. And I think we've talked about this on the show before, and it's even— it jumped much more when we look at, hey, look at the next 5 years. So I think the tide is kind of turning and The fact the commodity market has come up as much as it has, I think, has given a little bit more reasons to be optimistic. I do think though the cost side of the equation remains to be something that is just a real challenge when it comes to, like we talked about, diesel prices and input prices and things like that. And those are broad consumer concerns as well, especially from a fuel And just your regular family household costs that people are having to incur as they see an increase in the cost of living. And farmers know about this maybe better than anybody because the cost of farming has significantly increased.
Yeah.
And what we have seen is prior to the last 6 months, we were seeing costs rise Markets stay flat. Now the market has kind of responded, it's bumped up. What happens to input costs going forward? Do those input costs follow that commodity market higher, which is what we saw, you know, but 2022, '23-ish, right? We know these things don't react in parallel. And so the gains we've made in the commodity prices may not— that gap may not exist as long as we want, but definitely canola and crops like that looking a lot better than they did not too long ago. We're going to take a break, we'll be back with more of RealAg of the Weekend right after this.
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RealAg Radio is Canada's only daily radio show focused on agriculture. Get expert advice on Agronomic Monday. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we'll cover a broad range of issues. Thursday, we'll hear from farmers across the country on the Farmer Rapid Fire, and we'll wrap things up Fridays with the RealAg Issues panel with Kelvin Heppner and Lyndsey Smith. Join us Monday through Friday at 4:30 Eastern, and don't forget about the replay at 7 in the morning on Rural Radio 147 SiriusXM. Get all the information you need to keep your pulse crop healthy and profitable with the Pulse School on RealAgriculture.com. The Pulse School is a free YouTube video series covering agronomy, research, and more across a host of different pulse crops. It's also available as an audio podcast wherever you download or stream your favourite podcasts. Cheque us out on YouTube or visit RealAgriculture.com/ThePulseSchool, brought to you by BASF Canada. The following is a paid-for product spotlight by Canterra Seeds.
I'm Lyndsey Smith with Real Agriculture. Joining me now It's Paige Newton. She's Territory Manager of Southern Saskatchewan for Conterra Seeds. Paige, welcome here.
Oh, thanks so much, Lindsay. It's so great to see you.
Yes, you as well. Wonderful to catch up and even better to talk about some of our favourite things, including canola and canola hybrids. We are today, we're going to talk about, I hope I get this right, CS4100LL You see a lot of it in your territory. What are you seeing from this hybrid this year? Tell us about it.
I do see a lot of it, Lyndsey, and thanks so much. We're pretty passionate about our canola as well as all our seed varieties, but in southern Saskatchewan, my territory, CS4100 is really performing like a rock star. We finally have a hybrid that's a real good fit for southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, and that's because not only does it have yield, but it is also traded for potshatter, so it is a straight cut variety and what do our customers do here in the south? We're pretty much straight cutting everything, so it's been a real complement to our portfolio. I've had a lot of growth in my territory. We had a softer launch a couple years ago. Last year growers were trying it and this year that variety based on performance last year has more than doubled in acreage here in southern Saskatchewan and I've doubled the customer base, so that's pretty exciting for us. What am I seeing with it? It's got that real good early emergence. This year I think every single plant emerged, so we're seeing plant stands that are a little higher than that 5 to 7 plants per square foot in all areas. We had really, really great moisture in May and June, which got everything off to a really great start. And then the tap shut off after July 7th. I just ran into my neighbour outside the post office here. He's got some 4100. He goes, yeah, it looked even like great up until July 7th. Still looking good, but that heat in July and no moisture hurt a lot of crops, not just canola.
Yeah.
So anyway, it seems like anything that was seeded early is doing a little better. Still waiting to hear some yields come in. I haven't taken off any I haven't seen any trials yet, but waiting for that phone to ring or text any day. A couple of things that I noticed that are really different about CS4100 versus some of the other competitive hybrids in the market is the mother line of this hybrid is known for branching and lots of branching. So what we're seeing is a really deep potting zone on the CS4100. And the other thing, it tends to keep flowering and flowering. We all know that every flower hopefully will turn into a pod, so that extra flowering hopefully is stacking up to a little more yield. As far as standability goes, it's been looking strong. One thing I have seen a lot of throughout southern Saskatchewan and talking to some of my colleagues this year, there is a lot of sclerotinia. So for the customers who maybe didn't get a fungicide on, you might be seeing more of that disease. But we need to protect that crop when it's at the right stage. So yeah, loving this hybrid. I know last year, like I mentioned, our sales opportunity doubled in this past season, and based on feedback from farm customers last year, I had a trial at Sierra Colony, which is up on the bench between Shawnavan and Gull Lake last year, where our CS4100LL outyielded L340 by 10 bushels an acre. So we've got that yield box checked off. As far as the pod shatter goes, right now our CS4100LL is rated a 7.3 on the pod shatter scale, and again, a really important trait for our customers who are straight cutting canola. I actually think it's higher based on riding many, many, many combines, but we would rather under-promise and over-deliver than have it go the other way. So yeah, I'm real keen on this hybrid. It's a go-to again in the south. Most of the acres are LibertyLink because of glyphosate-resistant Kochia, and so it's been a real strong performer for us and Looking forward to getting some more trials off here shortly.
And you've touched on so many key things, of course, for growers is, you know, that longer maybe flowering window that does hedge you maybe a bit against that heat blast that maybe happens during that window. So we'll see where that ends up. And this year, I think, you know what, Paige, the standability question and the pod shatter question for this harvest anyway seems to be more important than ever. So really neat to to see where it stacks up. Just quickly before we go, this is, as you said, a really great hybrid that growers are liking, but there's always more down the pipeline. What can growers expect next in this lineup?
Yeah, great question, Lyndsey. Right now we have another new product in our lineup. CS4100 is a couple years old. This year we launched CS4200LL and It's looking strong. It's taller, it's a little bit later than CS4100. Again, we've got it in many, many trials across Western Canada where we're comparing it not only to 4100 LL but to relevant competitors in the marketplace. The one thing that makes this one a little more attractive to our customers is it's actually rated an 8. on the Canola Council Pod Shatter Scale. So again, it is traded for pod shatter. It too, it is from our breeding partner DL Seeds. We were there last week and talking a bit about 4200. This year I also have 6 experimental Liberty Links that we're looking forward to seeing what's going to come there. So we may have a CS4300 and maybe a CS4400 coming down the pipe. If If customers are interested in seeing our trial results, I would encourage them to go to www.canterra.com under our performance section, and we try and get them posted as quick as they come in and we're able to get them online. So it's an exciting time of year when we can see how our products perform in farmer-scale conditions. And which is where they really need to prove themselves. So, absolutely looking forward to that.
So exciting things coming down, as you said. Where can people go for more information?
Again, it is, I would suggest going to our website. All our results are posted at www.canterra.com and go under the performance tab. There you can select your province and the year and what variety you're looking for.
All right, okay, Paige, thank you so much for joining me again on the show.
Great, thanks, Lyndsey, so good to see you again. All the best for a great harvest time this year.
That was Paige Newton from Canterra Seeds. Yeah, we'll have a great harvest season if it stops raining, that would be great. And as alluded to, this is the time of the year where farmers are thinking about, hey, what What varieties, what hybrids am I going to be planting on next year's crop on top of all the fertiliser decisions and all of those kinds of things. Hey, we're going to take a quick break. We're back with more of RealAg of the Weekend right after this. Don't miss out on any of the content that RealAgriculture.com publishes. Whether you're looking for agronomy current events or industry news, our daily newsletters bring you the most current information every morning. Visit RealAgriculture.com/subscribe.
Since 2009, the Canola School on RealAgriculture.com has been providing relevant and timely agronomic advice to anyone involved in canola production. With over 15 years of video content on YouTube, the Canola School has been producers' go-to source for canola agronomy, research, marketing, and more. The Canola School is brought to you by BASF and InVigor Hybrid Canola. Cheque us out on YouTube or at canolaschool.com. I'm Lyndsey Smith, host of The Agronomist, and I want to thank you for tuning in for over 200 episodes of our beloved little programme. Join me Monday nights, 8 PM Eastern on YouTube for our live and interactive agronomy Q&A. Each week, our guest panel will handle some of your toughest agronomic questions live Streaming on YouTube, Facebook, X, and RealAgriculture.com. Tune in Monday nights or go to RealAgriculture.com/Agronomist and sign up for our email notifications and don't miss an episode.
Highly encourage you to cheque out some of the interviews that I've been doing with the 2026 class of the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. This week on the RealAg Radio podcast, I put— it was Tuesday's episode. I posted my interview with Ken Forth, who is somebody that's from Ontario, highly involved in the Ontario blueberry industry. But even where he really made his mark was in terms of really driving some of the policies around temporary foreign workers in agriculture. And I've got an upcoming one with Brian Roseneigel, no stranger to Western Canadian agriculture when it comes to plant breeding. The number of barley and oat varieties that Brian and his team played a part in and just adding new genetics to Western Canadian agriculture, just what a career. And no stranger to the Crop Development Centre in Saskatchewan. Dr. Brian Rosignol, sorry, definitely somebody that is very well deserving of being a member of the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. So cheque out that interview coming out shortly. A bit of news this week. Now, there's always talk about what are all the different ways that we can get Canadian agricultural commodities and goods to port more efficiently, be more productive, and we're always talking about some of the transport challenges that Canada faces. And Geography plays a role in that. Also, when we get into some of the cold temperatures of, of the Canadian winter, that actually has a lot more impact on, on, on rail than sometimes we, we consider. Now, we focus a lot on the Port of Vancouver, where the bulk of all the goods go to port. But another idea that has received a lot of attention over the years, it's kind of ebbed and it's flowed, is the Port of Churchill. And we had some news this week that Crews at the Port of Churchill are loading the facility's first grain export vessel since 2020, preparing to send approximately 30,000 tonnes of Western Canadian durum wheat to Europe for AGT Foods. The ship is the first of 3 grain vessels scheduled to load at the deepwater northern port this season as part of a new multi-year agreement between AGT and the Arctic Gateway Group. There's a quote here from, from, from Rad Al-Kateeb, the CEO of AGT. For AGT Foods, the Port of Churchill offers a compelling advantage, a shorter, efficient route connecting Western Canadian agriculture directly with customers in Europe and the Mediterranean. We are proud to be a part of the return of grain exports through Churchill and to establish a relationship that will see additional shipments this season and in future years. So according to a storey at RealAgriculture.com, Al-Khatib's company has ties to Churchill and Arctic Gateway Group, as AGT and parent company Fairfax Financial Holdings held a 50% stake in the railway to Churchill and the port facility from 2018 to 2021. They partnered with the current owners of AGC, a consortium of 29 First Nations and 12 northern communities known as One North, to acquire the assets from Denver-based OmniTrax in 2018 before transferring their stake to OneNorth in 2021. Now, historically, the Canadian Wheat Board was the main user of the port, with annual export volumes sometimes exceeding 400,000 tonnes. Shipments dwindled to zero in 2016 following the end of the CWE's single desk back in 2012. It's that long ago already. Grain exports resumed in 2019 and 2020, After the port and rail line were acquired by OneNorth and AGT before pausing again until this year. Now, they described the 2026 shipping season as the port's most diversified to date. Alongside grain shipments, crews of the port are loading resupply of vessels for Nunavut, as well as preparing for a shipment of zinc concentrate to begin loading later this week and handling the first-ever export of Manitoba-mined potash fertiliser destined for the port of a port in Belgium. Recent capital work includes structural bracing on the port's grain gallery, track rehabilitation, and bridge reconstruction near Thompson, Manitoba. Much of the port's grain infrastructure dates back to the 1930s. The railway also requires frequent maintenance as it is vulnerable to flooding and shifting permafrost. Geography is a major— one of the things that's really held the Churchill rail line back, right? We're talking about muskeg. We're not— we're not— we are definitely not, you know, it's, it's definitely not the Canadian Shield, but presents just as much of a challenge, um, from, from just a different end of the pendulum, I guess. Last month, both levels of government highlighted 2 feasibility studies completed by researchers at the University of Manitoba and FedNav Limited that showed year-round navigation through Churchill is possible with modern ice-capable ships Without icebreaker support. A multi-billion-dollar plan to transform Churchill into a major northern trade port was referred to by— in the Carney government's Major Projects Office in September of 2025. Now, there— I find there's multiple camps on the Churchill topic. Okay? There are the true believers that believe that Churchill is really— it is a major component of the trade diversification strategy that Canada talks about. And, and we heard from Murad where he talked about, you know, Europe and the Mediterranean. Obviously for Canadian lentils, for example, or, or durum, that, that sounds positive. There are others that believe that this dream of Churchill becoming this major port because of some of the geography and the weather restrictions Is kind of a pig in a poke. It's this thing that we sort of talk about, but it's not really the reality that we make it out to be. And, you know, I had one audience member tell me on Friday that wouldn't we be far better off to take some of that money that we're putting into Churchill and fix some of the issues of the Port of Vancouver or other transportation infrastructure issues that we, we have? And I interviewed last week some new research from PwC identifying some of the trade infrastructure issues that Canada has. They did not really have the Port of Churchill on that list as like, this is a must-invest. You know, for example, the Port of Vancouver still can't load grain in the rain. And I don't know the last time you've been to Vancouver, but it rains. That is not exactly the desert. And so I think Canadians are kind of divided on this. Now, Murad Al-Khatib at AGT, he's always been, at least whenever I've talked to him about this, he is a firm believer in the possibility of Churchill. And, you know, he, I guess he's put his money where his mouth is on this for sure. He's, he's coming through on it. Others believe that, why are we, you know, is, is really the growth market in Europe and the Mediterranean? Again, Port of Vancouver access to Asia and Indonesia are really where the focus should be. So this is one that I think is very interesting to follow in terms of, does, you know, if Churchill does get the investment that some people are pushing for, does it live up to the hype? Does it live up to the promise? And again, it does come into question. Canada's ability to— this is not an easy thing. Some people would say Canada can't do hard things when it comes to some of the investment infrastructure. This is a hard thing. So it's something to really follow going forward. I find it very fascinating. I'm not going to profess to be any sort of a trade infrastructure expert or will Churchill be successful or not. I just identify some of the— there's different opinions on this one for sure, much more than if we were talking about Hamilton or Vancouver or places like that. If you have any feedback on today's show, I'd love to hear from you. Send me an email, shaney@realagriculture.com. You can also call or text the RealAg feedback line, 855-776-6147. Have a great Labour Day weekend. We'll chat with you again next week. Thanks, Peter.
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