4 Our Advertisers Appreciate Your Business Better Farming | January 2025 INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE “Harvest was not the best this year. We didn’t get enough rain in July, which resulted in poor growing conditions and lower yields. Canola was terrible this year; it was way below average. Lower commodity prices are also an issue for us.” - Kevin McGillivray, Page 19 “We noticed that wheat tends to take water from a deeper depth, and peas tend to use water from shallower depths. Over the course of a rotation, we saw improvement in water use efficiency and reduced water footprint with those deeper and shallower rooted crops together in rotation.” - Jeff Schoenau, Page 21 “For farmers looking to transition out of day-to-day operations, renting out land offers a way to remain connected to the industry while easing into retirement.” - Brenna Grant, Page 29 “With every generation, the population gets further from agriculture. It’s important to put yourself out there and have good discussions.” - Jagger Thomas, Page 31 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR EASING U.S. RELIANCE, LET’S LOOK TO ASEAN “As Canada looks to further diversify export markets and reduce the marketing risk that comes from an overreliance on the U.S., Asia looms large.” That timely statement comes from FCC economics editor Martha Roberts in a recent post on growth opportunities for Canadian agri-food. Roberts suggests we look at further trade with the ASEAN market, “one of the world’s largest.” The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization with 10 member states: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Roberts explains that “as a group of countries, the 10 member states of ASEAN represented Canada’s fourth-largest merchandise trading partner in 2023. The bulk of that trade is to the six largest countries within the region (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), for whom food exports are, by far, the smallest of the three export categories.” Rice dominates diets in Southeast Asia, but wheat – Canada’s top ag export – is making inroads. Over the past decade, wheat consumption in Asia rose by 4.6 per cent annually, with wheat used as animal feed growing even faster at 9.8 per cent per year. This surge highlights an increase of animal-based protein in daily diets, signalling new opportunities. There are opportunities to increase market share. “According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), Canada is currently exporting below its potential to the ASEAN region. The ITC estimates ‘potential exports’ as a function of supply capacities in Canada, demand conditions in the target market, and bilateral linkages between Canada and the target country.” Roberts says we are exporting less wheat than we could be ($163 million in unrealized potential) to Vietnam and the Philippines, and lower volumes of swine cuts to countries like Singapore and Vietnam. Canola oil is estimated to represent $51 million in unrealized potential. 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 JOURNALISTS MARY LOGGAN EMILY MCKINLAY PRAIRIE CONTRIBUTORS RON SETTLER CHELSEY SIEMENS Lucky Lake, Sask. Kindersley, Sask. JASON VOOGT Miami, Man. NATIONAL CONTRIBUTORS MOE AGOSTINO ABHINESH GOPAL DIEGO FLAMMINI MARIANNE 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: February 2025. 1-888-248-4893 ext 281 Subscriptions@BetterFarming.com ISSN 2563-9803 (Printed) Copyright ©2025 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. Follow us on @PrairieFarming Cover: Thomas Family photo, Kristen Edwards photo
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