Twitter Survey: Challenges Faced By Western Canadian Farmers

By Harry Siemens

In a Twitter @AgTwitter survey farmers listed a host of concerns facing their farms going into 2023. Most focused on government policy or lack thereof, the carbon tax and climate change regulations and the cost of everything going up.

Korey Peters of Randolph, MB said initial costs of anything with long-term return on investment labour and price increases; seems to continue.

Ken Foster of Arborg, MB said increased costs, fertilizer and crop inputs. “Taxes and more taxes. The weather is always challenging; hopefully, the 2023 weather will be decent.”

Former federal Ag minister Gerry Ritz said the carbon tax fertilizer regulations and a federal government that needs to learn about Agriculture as it pertains to today’s farmers and farming techniques.

Jim Pallister who farms at Portage la Prairie, MB felt that the policies of all three levels of government federal, provincial and municipal challenges today’s farmers. For example, interest costs labour challenges and weed and insect resistance herbicides and pesticides.

Cam Dahl the general manager of Manitoba Pork said global political instability such as the war in Ukraine. “Global financial instabil- ity escalating interest rates, inflation, recession, currency risk. Disease risk (e.g. African Swine Fever threat).”

Kurt Shmon owner of Imperial Seed in Winnipeg, MB said government policy and risk of input pricing.

Brian Kennedy of Calgary AB added to the mix the rising cost of capital, competition from other exporters and the regulatory environment.

Somerled reference United NationsWorld Economic Forum threatened fertilizer bans and the ensuing rise if food price and scarcity. “The manufactured climate and fuel crises are making farming unaffordable.”

Tyler Burns in Saskatchewan felt supply chain, input and machine prices, and government policy presented some challenges but added, “There are opportunities within each as well. Both controllable and uncontrollable.”

Bantry Seedman from Alberta, “The three challenges that threaten my farm are commodity pricing in conjunction with our input costs pricing, availability of the products we use and our absolute lack of support from our government.”

Stuart Smyth who holds the AgriFood Innovation and Sustainability Enhancement Chair at the University of Saskatchewan said the April 30; per cent increase in the carbon tax, the delay in the CFIA’s approval of gene editing and the lack of pipeline capacity drive up the cost of commodity transportation and reduce agriculture’s access to the rail network.

Norm Maze owner of Maze Seed Farms Ltd and Maze Innovations tweeted that the policies of the Liberal Party of Central Canada are the cause of inflation high-interest rates food and energy insecurity.

Lane Christiansen of Saskatchewan said the export/import shifts worldwide could cause a potential price decrease. “Crop input supply and cost closing in on the end of the 30 per cent nitrogen emissions reduction. In the long term land prices for young farmers.

Jon @ironheeler said everyone soon forgets that when Covid lockdowns started the specialty food (especially meat, i.e. grass-fed, organic) was not completely picked over and bare. “Why? When push comes to shove no one cares about labels, they want the cheapest food.”

Rob Stone said internal government policy and regulatory inconsistency as it relates to science-based decision-making and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency is a good example.

Delichte Farms Ltd a 126-yearold, 6th-generation dairy and grain farm in south central Manitoba tweeted rising interest rates, increasing costs of inputs and equipment, and non-farming investors now driving up the rising cost of farmland prices.