CWB faces more cuts
He’s the tops
Staff shrinks, management salaries under review » PaGe 21
Sheffield goes to the world’s » PaGe 20
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 70, No. 20 | $1.75 May 17, 2012 manitobacooperator.ca
Wheat advances slow, says Interlake farmer Canola association says application errors are to blame By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
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he wheat cash advance that once took hours to obtain through the Canadian Wheat Board is taking weeks through the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Fisher Branch farmer Bill Uruski says. “It has been a nightmare,” Uruski said in an interview from his farm May 4. Uruski, who farms with his son Barclay, said Barclay applied for an advance April 1 and still hadn’t received it more than 30 days later. “As a result we’ve been forced to seek a line of credit from our credit union,” he said. The wheat board started issuing cash advances for wheat in 1957. Last Sept. 29 the federal government announced the canola growers’ association would administer advances “so that wheat, durum and barley farmers have access to the Advance Payments Program without disruption,” when the board loses its monopoly marketing powers this Aug. 1. See ADVANCES on page 6 »
Scenes like this one are becoming less common on Manitoba farms. photo: jeannette greaves
StatsCan report shows more canola, less wheat Latest five-year agriculture census snapshot shows gross farm revenue up with expenses falling slightly By Daniel Winters co-operator staff
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
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he numbers are out and they show canola is beating wheat, the cost of farming and farm incomes have improved marginally, and the provincial cattle herd is down by nearly a quarter. Canola area surpassed spring wheat area for the top spot among field crops, up 44.3 per cent to 3.3 million acres since the last survey in 2006, while spring wheat fell 13.2 per cent to 2.6 million acres. But Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, figures that late seeding dates amid last spring’s floods may have distorted the acreage figures in canola’s favour, simply because it was the few last-ditch options available.
“Canola’s been a successful crop for producers,” said Chorney, but he added that last year’s efforts in seeding from airplanes and broadcasting behind heavy harrows may have played a role. “Although canola’s been the best crop, guys still grow a lot of wheat.” Operators spent an average of 83 cents in expenses, excluding depreciation, for every dollar of receipts in 2010, about three cents less than they spent in 2005.
Lower interest rates
Chorney said that lower interest rates may have accounted for some of that gain, because energy, fuel and fertilizer have all marched steadily upwards. “The cost of carrying debt and operating loans has been greatly reduced, and
that’s a big portion of farm expenses,” he said. “Our farmers could be more efficient in operating their farms. We have bigger equipment, but it’s also more expensive, so it’s a bit of a trade-off there.” Oilseed and grain farms accounted for 49.6 per cent and pig farms 19.2 per cent of the 2010 total gross farm receipts. At 16.7 per cent, the number of farms, at 15,877, marked a sharper drop since 2006 in Manitoba, compared to a 10.3 per cent decrease nationally. Manitoba accounted for 7.7 per cent of Canada’s 205,730 farms in 2011. Farms are getting bigger, with fewer farmers, and they’re getting older, the StatsCan numbers show. See STATSCAN on page 6 »
PLUS: Riled up over freight rate raise » PAGE 5