{"id":13420,"date":"2025-11-29T01:21:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T04:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/how-producers-at-agribition-are-working-through-big-economic-changes-amid-trade-uncertainty\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T01:21:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T04:21:36","slug":"how-producers-at-agribition-are-working-through-big-economic-changes-amid-trade-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/how-producers-at-agribition-are-working-through-big-economic-changes-amid-trade-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"How producers at Agribition are working through big economic changes amid trade uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>SaskatchewanTrends in Canadian agriculture markets have been deeply influenced by international trade barriers and tariffs, causing uncertainty for small producers. Meanwhile, consumers face sky-high beef prices and crop values are dropping significantly.Beef industry is thriving but high input costs, low commodity prices cause problems for crop producersAlex Kozroski  \u00b7 CBC News  \u00b7 Posted: Nov 27, 2025 6:18 PM EST | Last Updated: November 28Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Canadian Western Agribition, held annually in Regina, hosts the largest livestock show in the country. (Will Draper\/CBC)Thousands of producers from many markets have convened in Regina under unique conditions for the Canadian Western Agribition. International trade barriers and tariffs are causing uncertainty for small producers.The effects have varied, however. Consumers are seeing sky-high beef prices, while crop values are dropping significantly.Saskatchewan Cattle Association chair Chad Ross said the beef margins are some of the best he\u2019s seen in 27 years.\u201dEveryone seems to be pretty darn happy with the the fall run and the prices we\u2019ve had,\u201d he said.\u201dWe\u2019ve had some political instability here south of the border that\u2019s caused the markets to be very volatile, and that always does cause concern. The other thing that is very important to us is the [Canada-United States-Mexico] agreement being renegotiated here next year.\u201dLast year, the federal government reported more than 11.9 million cattle on 71,280 farms and ranches across Canada. Ross said the country exports about half of its beef, 75 per cent of which goes to the U.S.Former premier Brad Wall, who is a beef rancher, attended Agribition for a \u2018fireside chat\u2019 about the state of agriculture. He said Saskatchewan should advocate for its own international trade, rather than depending on the federal government.Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall speaks at Agribition in Regina about the state of agriculture, trade, and the future outlook for Western Canada. (Cory Herperger\/CBC)\u201dWhat is the current federal government\u2019s focus when it comes to trade issues? Is it yellow peas and canola seed, or pork? \u2026 Or is their focus the auto sector and steel and aluminum?\u201d he asked.\u201dBecause ladies and gentlemen, the votes are where those industries are in this country. That\u2019s where the seats are. That\u2019s the reality of the federation.\u201dA sheep farmer from Hanley, Sask. said international trade signals an opportunity for his sector.Brian Hunstad, volunteering at Agribition for the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board, said about 75 per cent of the lamb consumed in Canada is imported, while only 25 per cent is homegrown. That space for growth makes the market very attractive, he said.Brian Hunstad began farming 15 years ago, and has found success with Count Your Sheep, producing luxury bedding with wool from his sheep. (Alex Kozroski\/CBC)\u201cWe get a lot of guys reaching out, just curious about it, because they know it\u2019s a growing industry. But there\u2019s not a lot of information about it because we\u2019re a cattle industry,\u201d Hunstad said.\u201cThe reason why a lot of guys like it: it\u2019s low entry-level cost, so a quicker return on your investment, and three markets, possibly.\u201dHe is also seeing a shift in the wool market, where farmers like himself have begun to take cleaning and manufacturing into their own hands rather than through more expensive, national processors, he said.WATCH | Canadian Western Agribition showcases tech, innovation and Indigenous culture:Canadian Western Agribition showcases technology, innovation and Indigenous cultureCanadian Western Agribition showcases the latest in technology and innovation for growing food and raising livestock. The annual trade show also puts a spotlight on Indigenous culture.Hunstad runs a business called Count Your Sheep, producing luxury wool duvets and pillows.\u201cIt\u2019s actually not that hard, because there are medium- to small-sized wool mills popping up all across Canada,\u201d he said. \u201cSo if a guy does a little research on how to keep his wool clean and then market it to those guys, they\u2019ll clean it and sell it on retail in their own store.\u201dCathay Merkley, a former alpaca farmer and a seller of Canadian alpaca product, said her market has grown as well.\u201cWhen you get it into the hands of the consumers, as soon as people try it, they want more,\u201d Merkley said.\u201cWord of mouth has really multiplied the demand for the alpaca product, and over time, we\u2019re getting better at what we do and we\u2019re producing nicer fleece to begin with. The processors are understanding how it functions and doing really good work with yarn production.\u201dTim Young, founder and general manager of Young\u2019s Equipment, Saskatchewan\u2019s largest dealer of Case IH farm implements, said he\u2019s seen a shift from people buying new equipment to buying used, renting, and getting more service done to keep older equipment running.Tim Young founded Young\u2019s Equipment in 1988, and has since expanded to nine locations in Saskatchewan. (Alex Kozroski\/CBC)\u201cWe\u2019re noticing it, of course. Because it\u2019s not only the price of the equipment, it\u2019s the lower prices for commodities that is really a big impediment to people buying new equipment,\u201d he said.\u201cThere\u2019s been times where the price of equipment has been low compared to the price of commodities. Right now it\u2019s the other way around.\u201dFertilizer costs are slowly dropping from an all-time high in 2022, but other input costs are making it harder for farmers, particularly those who grow crops with trade barriers, like canola and yellow peas.WATCH | Tariffs are crushing Canada\u2019s $40B canola industry:Tariffs are crushing Canada\u2019s $40B canola industryChinese tariffs have effectively shut the door on Canada\u2019s second-largest canola market, driving down prices and leaving 40,000 farmers uncertain about the future. For The National, CBC\u2019s Lyndsay Duncombe breaks down how it got to this point and the impact it\u2019s having on the industry.\u201cLong-term, the future is bright. Short-term, it\u2019s going to be a little bumpy, and I think those of us that have been in agriculture for a long time, we expect to see these,\u201d Young said.\u201cYou have to put away some money just to help you through some of the tough times \u2026 One of the great strengths of the province of Saskatchewan is our ability to produce food, and as the world\u2019s population continues to grow, being involved in agriculture is going to be a great place to be.\u201dABOUT THE AUTHORAlex Kozroski is a reporter with CBC News in Regina. He has also worked as a reporter for Golden West Broadcasting in Swift Current, Sask.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SaskatchewanTrends in Canadian agriculture markets have been deeply influenced by international trade barriers and tariffs, causing uncertainty for small producers. Meanwhile, consumers face sky-high beef prices and crop values are dropping significantly.Beef industry is thriving but high input costs, low commodity prices cause problems for crop producersAlex Kozroski \u00b7 CBC News \u00b7 Posted: Nov 27, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,123,1],"tags":[116,122],"class_list":["post-13420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-saskatchewan","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-saskatchewan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}