Market Prospects is Back on CTV's Farmgate

source: Farm and Food Report

Market Prospects marks its 20th anniversary this winter with a 16-week run on CTV’s weekly Farmgate show.

The series continues its tradition of inviting experts from Saskatchewan and further afield to provide leading edge analysis on the market situation and outlook for major prairie crops and livestock. It also examines a variety of related agricultural production and trade issues.

Market Prospects kicked off in December 2004 with two livestock shows. Farmgate host Bob Simpson interviewed Michel Tremblay, SAFRR Provincial Forage Crop Specialist, on the feed situation and Brad Wildeman of Pound-Maker Agventures in Lanigan on current issues in the prairie beef sector. As with most Market Prospects shows, the audio and video of these interviews and the text version of the questions can be accessed following the original broadcast at http://marketprospects.usask.ca/.

The series resumed in January with SAFFR's own grain research economist, Glenn Payne, speaking on world grain and oilseed supplies and market conditions. In the next show, Dr. Andrew Schmitz of the University of Florida examined the nature of U.S. trade actions (and the resulting countervail duties). Dr. Schmitz is an internationally recognized agricultural economist who still farms in his home province of Saskatchewan.

The annual appearance of Dr. Keith Collins, Chief Economist of the United States Department of Agriculture, is considered a highlight of the Market Prospects series. Dr. Collins, who is known to give candid interviews, provides the U.S. perspective on agricultural trade and markets in two interviews. On February 5, he offers the U.S. view on the wheat and oilseed outlook.

On February 12, Dave Walker of Tisdale's Walker Seeds addresses the market situation and outlook for peas, lentils and chickpeas. Steve Gadient of Winnipeg's Humboldt Seeds continues the emphasis on specialty crops on February 19, speaking on mustard, canary seed and spices. Further topic and speaker information can be found on the web site.

One might think that, after 20 years of production, the annual series might be growing old and a bit tired. However, the show has re-invented itself several times over the years to remain relevant and accessible. It has gone from a one-day satellite show with live audiences in a small number of Saskatchewan centres, to a stand-alone special series on network television, to its current placement as a 10-minute segment on Farmgate.

More than 75,000 viewers watch the show each week in the province, and it is also available across Canada on satellite television. The adoption of technology such as the internet site and the production of DVDs has further expanded the availability of the information.

Central to the Market Prospects programming over the years has been the objective of informing farmers about changing production and market conditions that will influence production levels and prices of the major Saskatchewan crops in the coming year. The goal has been to deliver timely commodity market and outlook information prior to spring planting.

Richard Wharton is SAFRR's Production Economics Specialist. "This kind of information is very critical," he says. "With margins being very thin, producers need to focus on what the market demands. Traditionally, agricultural producers have put more emphasis on production than marketing, which tends to be left to specialized organizations. Yet, it is central to what producers do. They need to be aware of market fluctuation, especially now, as they prepare for a new season of activities. They must familiarize themselves with developments on issues of price, cash flow and profitability. The Market Prospect interviews allow them to do just that."

In recent years, an expanded educational mandate has been adopted for the series. A number of shows each year look at a wider range of production, market and trade issues that affect prairie farmers. This year, the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development in Saskatchewan (CARDS) Program (funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) has provided financial support for a series of eight interviews within the Market Prospects 2005 programming focussing on agricultural trade. The series, which explores BSE, Canada/U.S. trade, product traceability and the WTO, is titled Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities for Prairie Agriculture.

Market Prospects 2005 is co-ordinated by the Department of Agricultural Economics of the University of Saskatchewan, in co-operation with SAFRR and CTV. A broad base of financial support comes from CARDS, the Agriculture Institute of Management in Saskatchewan (AIMS), the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, and the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan.

Market Prospects continues on Farmgate on Saturdays until April 16. There is something for all prairie farmers and anyone else interested in agriculture in these 16 themed interviews.

For more information, contact:
Richard Wharton
Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization
Agriculture Knowledge Centre
1-866-457-2377

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