4 Our Advertisers Appreciate Your Business Better Farming | May/June 2024 1-888-248-4893 PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PAUL NOLAN ext 202 Paul.Nolan@Farms.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LESLIE STEWART ext 265 Leslie.Stewart@Farms.com AGRICULTURAL JOURNALIST EMILY CROFT PRAIRIE CONTRIBUTORS DALE RISULA RON SETTLER Regina, Sask. Lucky Lake, Sask. NATIONAL CONTRIBUTORS MOE AGOSTINO DALE COWAN DIEGO FLAMMINI ABHINESH GOPAL MARIANNE FIGGE STEIN ADVERTISING TEAM GLENN RUEGG JEFF McKEE JENNY LONGSTREET SCOTT FARHOOD SAMANTHA RENAUD JOAN SPIEGELBERG ANDREW BAWDEN DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM TANYA MYERS GREG MARLOW SHAUN CLARK ANDREA WILLIAMS www.BetterFarming.com Better Farming Magazine, Prairie Edition is mailed to producers in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Next issue: July 2024. 1-888-248-4893 ext 281 Subscriptions@BetterFarming.com ISSN 2563-9803 (Printed) Copyright ©2024 by AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content without written permission of the publisher is forbidden. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, its products or services, nor do Better Farming, AgMedia or Farms.com endorse any advertiser claims. The publisher shall have no liability for the omission of any scheduled advertising. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 90 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, ON N1H 1B2 Mail agreement #0042518524 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Cover: David Dinan, Hot Shoe Studio photo, Akchamczuk - GettyImages photo Follow us on @PrairieFarming INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE “The biggest factor that drives farmland values is the profitability of the farm. It’s a big gap ahead of the other reasons. It’s regional, for the most part. It’s weatherdriven, commodity-price-driven, interest-driven.” - Ted Cawkwell, Page 15 “I go to AgSmart at Olds College every year. It is really exciting to see the technology that’s on the horizon. As some technology improves and starts working together, the future of farming is pretty exciting.” - Matt Hamill, Page 30 “When using these implants, I tell farmers that they are the one thing guaranteed to provide financial return in the beef market. There is no question left that it is going to make them money. It’s going to increase feed efficiency, average daily gain (ADG), and pretty much as long as there is adequate nutrition, they will return a profit.” - Dr. Van Mitchell, Page 37 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR FARMLAND VALUES; BOVINE GENOMICS Saskatoon-based realtor Ted Cawkwell provides a summary of factors influencing farmland values in this edition (Page 14). “Commodity prices are down, and we had a lot less snowfall. These things aren’t looking great, but cattle prices are at an all-time-high,” Cawkwell says. “If you’re looking for the shining star, it’s going to be the cattle producers: Hay and pasture land. I think we’re going to see a rise on ranch land and a lower rise on grain land because the profitability is shifting. “Historically, it’s common when grain prices are high that cattle prices are low. Everybody gets their turn.” We heard lots of praise following the news that the Canadian Angus Association would receive $3.8 million to increase Canadian cattle producers' ability to make data-driven decisions based on genomics to economically benefit their commercial livestock operations. The investment will be used to develop a genetic selection tool to equip producers with breeding data to select the best replacement heifers to improve their herds. According to RDAR (Results Driven Agriculture Research), “using the selection tool, producers will have access to reliable genetic data to select for desired traits such as growth and fertility. “This will improve the overall genetic potential of Canadian cattle herds, which has the potential to translate into increased profits across the value chain and more exports.” RDAR facilitated a contribution of $978,000 through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership — funded by the governments of Alberta and Canada. The Canadian Angus and Hereford Associations, together with TELUS Agriculture, also contributed. Another industry funding update comes from Protein Industries Canada, which recently announced a $31 million investment along with Corteva Agriscience, Botaneco, Bunge, Rainfed Foods and Northeast Nutrition to increase the demand and market opportunities for high-protein canola, sunflower protein and novel oilbody products. Protein Industries Canada is investing $13.4 million, with the consortium partners investing the remainder.
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