Philip Shaw

It has been a harrowing week in Canada. With railroads blockaded at different points across the country, you can almost feel the economy contract. Across the country, trains are either stopped or slowed or something in between. Tensions are rising as our politicians disagree with each other. At the vortex of the disagreement is the…

The weather has turned cold earlier in February giving me temperatures last seen November 14th as my combine was stopped by snow. This winter has been mild in southwestern Ontario and even tonight’s cold temperatures are supposed to be short lived. We’ve had mild winters before, followed by normal summers. With the dread year 2019…

As the plane landed, I could only recount the many other times I had been in Bangladesh. Last month, I boarded a plane in Toronto and once again, made my way toward Dubai and ultimately Dhaka Bangladesh. When I first ventured there 27 years ago there were 92 million people. Today, there are 160 million…

It is hard to believe we are here, but 2019 is coming to an end and for many farmers across the great North American corn belt, it can’t come soon enough. It’s been a difficult year. As I write this, there are still many farmers in the fields across Ontario and Quebec getting the last…

It is that time of year again, when farmers across the greater North American corn belt pause and reflect on Christmas and the year that was. 2019 will go down as a particularly difficult year for many farmers. It all started with a very drawn out and wet spring in the Eastern corn belt, only…

It was sub-zero temperatures in SW Ontario the last couple of days and although this made it crazy cold for putting machinery away, it did open up a window for harvest to ramp up. It’s funny, I travelled last night 40 kilometres north of here to a function and I passed more combines and farm…

It is getting colder in SW Ontario amid a fall that seemingly just won’t quit. Things are quiet on my farm as I finished harvest a couple of weeks ago. However, it cannot be emphasized enough how much of a battle this harvest is for people with crop still in the field. Simply put, much…

American Thanksgiving is something I always get to celebrate. It just so happens I have an American sister in law and that has translated into many years of not only watching the Detroit Lions in the afternoon but being invited over to celebrate with all my American friends to the south. Most of the day,…

Soybean harvest ended for me October 24th. I was glad to put my soybean economy behind me as this has been such a challenging year. Make no mistake about it. Planting early does make a difference. When you plant close to Canada Day, there isn’t a lot of upside. I’m hoping the spring of 2020…

The weather has turned cold in southwestern Ontario. There is even some corn being taken off across the province, albeit baby steps with a substantial acreage of soybeans left to harvest. Your loyal scribe has even got wheat planted in good conditions this year. I’m even growing impatient that it isn’t up yet. I’m looking…