LMT Aug 30 - Vol 114 - issue 36

lmtimes.ca • Last Mountain Times • Monday, August 30, 2021 • /lastmountaintimes • @lmtimes
A portion of expected
yield
21092BS1
5
There is not a lot to suggest the cloud of drought, which hangs over the Canadian
Prairies, will have a silver lining for farmers,
But some good news comes in part because crop yields will be low. Producers
can anticipate some very high prices over the next few months as the full impact
of the drought on production is better defined by actual crop in the bin numbers.
There are already suggestions out there that lentil demand
AG NOTES
CALVIN DANIELS
is going to be high, partly because there has been a drought
in Turkey, and that country is a major lentil consumer. India
is also expected to be an active buyer, having reduced import
tariffs in order to assure supplies there.
Of course, those high prices won’t be fully realized by
producers here, with yields expected to be significantly below
long-term averages. However, it might provide a bit of
a financial buffer if the bushels produced are sold at higher
than normal prices. It’s the same across most crops, which
is the good news of a sort. But, not every bushel produced
this fall will be able to garner the higher prices.
As a financial tool, many producers’ forward price’ at least a
portion of expected yield. The practice provides some know numbers for creating
a financial plan. For some producers, the lower yields expected this year
may not even fulfill the forward pricing contracts, which means no bushels to
sell into a higher market now, and many producers will need to work with the
contractor on just how they fulfill their part of the deal.
The other issue may well be what grade the grain comes off this fall.
With any luck, we won’t suddenly hit a wet spell which would be a disaster
now that it is harvest time, but even with an open dry fall, grades may be hit
hard. In the driest of areas, that is, large parts of the Prairies, the lack of moisture
and extreme heat as heads filled will mean less than fully developed grain
in the head. The usual plump kernels simply will not be there, and that can
mean a lower grade, which in turn means lower prices.
And while the situation is not good at present, and it is only August, there
must be concerns when looking ahead to 2022.
We haven’t gotten a lot of fall rain in recent years, and even winter snowfall
has not been huge of late, and both things would be good in terms of replenishing
soil moisture levels pore-seeding 2022. If those things do not occur, big fall
rains and lots and lots of snow, producers are going to need spring rains to get
a crop growing, but not so much they can’t plant, and then a far wetter summer
than we have had in 2021.
- Calvin Daniels
Comment on this article at lmtimes.ca/calvin
Disclaimer: opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Consortium - continues from page 1
the RM grades it as they do the RM
roads; however, Strasbourg hadn’t put
in gravel this year. Schmidt said they
would contact the town of Strasbourg
to let them know it needs to be done.
Schmidt used Island View as an
example because they had always
supplied their own gravel. Herman
agreed however implied the RM may
have gravelled the road two years ago.
Herman said Pelican Point also supplied
gravel.
Schmidt said it is a concern because
the RV’ believe the RM is responsible
for keeping the road in a safe and
useful condition. He said that the RM
grades and mows the grass.
Councillor Gilbert said, “if there’s
not much gravel on the road how are
we supposed to keep it in a safe condition.”
Schmidt said he went down the
road the day before and noted there
was not much gravel on the road. He
said that Herman had tried to grade
it, but “you can’t make anything out of
it without gravel.” To which Herman
agreed.
Councillor for the Resort Village of
Sunset Cove, Tom Fulcher, said the
four resort villages in the RM formed
a consortium. Fulcher speaks on behalf
of the group.
Despite Reeve Schmidt’s claim that
the resort villages are expecting a
maximum level of service from the
RM, Fulcher said, “We have not placed
any expectations on them at all other
than to abide by the Municipalities Act
which says to keep the roads in a safe
condition.”
“Our position is that there is a
minimum standard of what a safe road
would be. A safe road would include
being able to get our residents, emergency
service vehicles and school buses
into our resort in a timely fashion
and keeping our ditches mowed.”
Fulcher said it’s common sense
that if there is no gravel on the roads,
they will turn into mud, making them
unsafe. “If they are muddy roads can
people safely travel on them? can
emergency services travel on them?
Can we get an ambulance in? can we
get a police car in? can we get a fire
truck in?”
Fulcher said that even though the
Resort Villages do not feel they are
legally bound to enter into a road
maintenance agreement with the
RM of McKillop and don’t believe
the Saskatchewan Municipal Board
would mandate it; that in the spirit of
co-operation and community cohesiveness,
they are willing to enter into
one, providing some funding to help
maintain the roads. He said that “We
don’t believe the SMB would mandate
us to enter into one however we are
still prepared to enter into one just to
get along with the RM. We are part of
the community. We like to think we
are part of the community. We truly
do appreciate that there are costs
to maintain these roads but we also
believe that it’s the RM’s legal responsibility
to do so, but having said
that we are willing to provide some
funding towards maintaining these
roads. However it appears the money
that we’ve offered isn’t sufficient for
the RM. The money we have offered is
100% of the maximum rates that are
prescribed under the Municipal Regulations.
The Municipal Regulations
prescribe what road hauling rates will
be. So we, as resort villages, have offered
the RM 100% of those rates…the
RM has chosen not to accept that.”
“We said to the RM… if you don’t feel
that is sufficient, your argument isn’t
with the resort villages, your argument
is with the provincial government
who sets these rates.” Fulcher
said the RM should lobby the provincial
government through SARM,
saying these rates aren’t sufficient.
“Instead,” he said, “they are continuing
to go after us over what they feel
is inadequate financial contributions
towards these roadways.”
Jennifer Argue, Local Journalism
Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content