The western producer february 8, 2018

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018

VOL. 96 | NO. 6 | $4.25

Milligan Biofuels Buyer of damaged canola closes its doors | P. 3

Canola council woes SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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IT’S AN OUTSIDE JOB

19 percent of canola uninsured last year; ‘risk and hope’ philosophy alive and well on many farms

BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU

If nothing else, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer gets high marks for consistency. Since August, when re-negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement began, Lighthizer has said the U.S. wants to rebalance trade with Canada and Mexico. Some economists and trade experts have dismissed Lighthizer’s comments as posturing and a tactic to put pressure on Canada and Mexico. That analysis may be flawed because it’s been six months, and Lighthizer hasn’t moved from his key message. A U.S. Department of Agriculture economist said there’s a reason for Lighthizer’s consistency. In July 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its objectives for the NAFTA re-negotiations. Steven Zahniser of the USDA Economic Research Service, said the message in the 18 page document is plain: the U.S. wants to rebalance trade.

BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM

A lot of prairie farmers take a chance every year that the weather will be kind to them. Larry Weber, analyst with Weber Commodities, compared the number of insured acres in 2017 with Statistics Canada’s official estimate of crop size and found a big gap. Western Canada’s canola growers insured 18.5 million acres of the 22.8 million acres that were planted last year, according to data provided by provincial crop insurance agencies. That means 4.3 million acres were uninsured, or nearly 19 percent of the crop. Spring wheat farmers are even bigger risk takers. They insured 9.7 million acres of the 15.4 million acres planted, leaving 5.7 million acres uninsured, or 37 percent of the crop. “That’s a big roll of the dice,” said Weber. But he isn’t too surprised based on conversations with growers. “Some guys that I thought would be right on top of risk management have never insured,” said Weber. “My uncle farmed for 35 years. He never insured a thing. Nothing. And he was pissed off he had to insure his vehicles.” Weber believes the number of uninsured acres is on the rise and that the reluctance to manage the risk has a lot to do with a 15-year run of decent weather. “We haven’t had an absolute crop failure since 2002,” said Weber. “I don’t think it’s going to change until we have a wreck and we’re due.” SEE BIG GAMBLE, PAGE 4

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U.S. not budging on ‘old guard’ trade stance

SEE U.S. WON’T BUDGE, PAGE 5

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv+:' FEBRUARY 8, 2018 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4

Courtney Olesen herds sold calves to a holding pen on sale day Jan. 24 at the Innisfail Auction Mart in Innisfail, Alta. | MARIA JOHNSON PHOTO

NEXICOR. IT’S WHAT’S NEXT FOR CEREALS & CANOLA.

The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240 | ISSN 0043-4094

The big gamble

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Canola Council of Canada loses one-third of funding | P. 3


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