Ag News

Farmland values continue to rise and as producers head into the 2025 growing year, operations will have to take a calculated approach to either expanding their business or even just staying competitive. Farmland values within Canada increased by 11.5% in 2023 and 12.8% in 2022. Farm Credit Canada or FCC reports on these increasing farmland values and will release a full report for the 2024 year expected in March 2025. Justin Shepherd is a senior economist with FCC who sheds some light on the rise of land prices over the last few years. 

When you think back to 2024, what were the most impactful food stories?

The Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University has released its Top 10 list of most impactful food stories that shaped Canada's agri-food landscape. 

Saskatchewan continued on the path to recovery as another year saw conditions remain closer to normal following the droughts earlier this decade.

The ag sector is hoping to see more progress on that with a good snowpack over winter helping to balance that moisture deficit.

Daryl Harrison, Saskatchewan's Minister of Agriculture, talks about the province's economic fortunes over 2024.

Healthy crop yields were the most significant highlights of 2024, says Manitoba Agriculture's Applied Research Specialist with WADO, Scott Chalmers in the Melita area.

"Here at WADO we had some of our best yields ever," shares Chalmers. "I've been here for 17 years and by far 2024 was the record for us in the plots, and I think it had a lot to do with getting the rains at the right time.  Some of our yields were quite dominating, I would say."

"We had record prices in 2024,” says Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association Executive Administrator, Rick Wright. "For the cow/calf breeders in Manitoba, across Western Canada, it's the best year we've ever had."

“I've been in the business 45 years, and we've never seen cattle prices where they were this fall. And the good news is that looking ahead into 2025, it looks like these prices have the potential to carry on for next year and possibly the year after,” he says. 

With everything going on around the world, pork producers across the prairies are keeping a watchful eye on developments and planning for what may come. 

Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl characterized 2024 as a significant turnaround for the province’s hog industry, following a challenging couple of years marked by tight margins and disease concerns. Dahl is optimistic about the industry’s trajectory, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning for future uncertainties. 

The second annual Canadian Soybean Harvest Update attracted more than 100 virtual attendees from Asia and the Indo-Pacific on December 10, 2024. 

Hosted by Soy Canada, the live-streamed event brought together participants from Canada, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan’s annual general meeting or AGM is on January 8th. It is an online AGM both recapping the 2024 year as well as looking ahead to the 2025 growing year. Anyone interested is invited to join and learn about the inner workings of Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan and will be introduced to a new organization created in partnership called Canadian Food Focus. Clinton Monchuk, program director with Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan, is excited for this new organization to help bring food awareness to more urban centers. 

Farm Transition Appreciation Day or FTADay is on January 9th, 2024. This day looks at farm transitions and how important it is to have a good plan when wanting to transition the farm from one generation or one owner to the next. It also sheds light on some success stories of Canadian farms transitioning smoothly and finds better ways to do it in the future. Nick Oakley is a business development lead with Farm Management Canada who talks about the importance of a day like FTADay. 

As Canadian producers look forward to the 2025 growing year, cereal rotations are an integral part of their plans before hitting the field. Malt barley will be a big part of that as producers look to cash in on the premiums associated with malt barley. Primarily grown for beer production, malt barley differs from regular barley because it needs to be kept alive before heading to the breweries and food processors.