Philip Shaw

It has been a particularly good year for crop farmers across Ontario.  That was expressed to me today by one of my friends who merchandises grain across eastern Canada. He was referring to the very good crops that were grown in his area of eastern Ontario this past year. We had a good discussion on…

Into 2023 we go. For your loyal scribe that almost seems like science fiction. However, as the years go on there are the constant adjustments both on our farms and within our collective minds. Some of us who were educated in the Stone Age continually find it hard to come to grips with the fact…

It has been quite a year and at Christmas time I always like to remember where we have been.  Sure we certainly have our problems as farmers on both sides of the border, but for the most part over the last several years we have had good times. As we head into Christmas this coming…

As the days grow shorter there is lots to consider when we look back at 2022. One issue that raises a lot of blood pressure in eastern Canadian farm country are fertilizer prices. This past year federal tariffs were applied at 35% on Russian fertilizer, which had a real impact on eastern Canadian agriculture. In…

The days are winding down on 2022, but as I drive by my farms it is hard to imagine. As all of you know this past year it has been very dry here and that continued into a beautiful harvest season, where dry weather is considered an asset. You would think by this time we’d…

I often joke that agricultural economists are paid to be wrong. In fact, sometimes we revel in that state of mind, constantly explaining ourselves away that we didn’t see that coming. That’s a bit like I felt today as January soybeans dropped about $0.40 a bushel sending a mild surprise through my noggin. I have…

Last week marks the 36th year of writing this column.  Times have really changed since 1986, I can hardly imagine when I think back through all the years.  Back in the last century many of us used to theorize how old we would be when the clock ticked over to the year 2000. Of course,…

The last week has been a bit of a slap in the face as cold air has inundated southwestern Ontario and we had wisps of snow wafting across farm country. In some parts of Ontario there is heavy snow and toward the Niagara region close to Buffalo it’s going to be a snow tsunami this…

Almost three years ago your loyal scribe was the guest speaker at the Prince Edward Island Grains and Oilseeds Outlook Conference in Summerside PEI, where I was talking about eastern Canadian grain markets. As usual, wherever I go I like to focus in on local cash markets.  Looking at the Atlantic Canada markets is always…

I have moved to my last cornfield, and it is a pretty tough one.  The yield monitor has not been kind on my initial forays into the field as widespread drought from June to August certainly caused a lot of havoc with my dreams of a bumper corn yield. Memories of last year’s near record…