This is a sample post.

Monday, December 23, 2019

First off, I want to acknowledge what a difficult season we had this year in Saskatchewan and commend you all for your passion, hard work and commitment to growing food to feed the world. We simply would not be here without you and as I look to the future I believe that the things are going to be a lot better for producers based on the following trends that I have been actively monitoring in the world of agriculture.

China and the United States are settling a partial agreement that will loosen the restrictions on agriculture products. When the US is able to move their products, so too will Canada and the prices should correspondingly get a lot better. With this, we will also be able to move a lot more Canadian raw products to mills located in the United States.

India has had a bad growing season with heavy rains and flooding and is expected to increase its food imports and we will most likely see tariffs lowered on chickpeas, lentils and other pulses. Middle-class incomes in India are reported to be rising so much that the country will require one million more tonnes of pulses each year and you, the Saskatchewan farmers are perfectly positioned to fill this void.

In contrast to India’s rains and flooding, Australia has a drought problem and most likely will fall very short of their potential production predicting that they will likely see output fall to an 11-year low, leaving Canada to fill the void.

Another factor that isn’t mentioned as often, is that most countries cut their buying of agricultural products, causing their inventories to be quite low. This is especially true in the Chinese swine industry and will take a lot of rebuilding, and a lot of feed, to replenish.

I look forward to the bright future that I believe our industry and the strong farming community of Saskatchewan has ahead of it.  

Wishing you and your families all the best over the holidays and the new year.

Regards, 

Robert Andjelic