To spread or not to spread? That is the age-old question. One that I recently answered. I was a participant in the Progressive Dairy Operators Youth Workshop Series.

It is a six-day business course for dairy producers between 25 and 35 years old. The final day was filled with presentations by class members based on a specific topic covered in one of the previous lessons.

We all know the welfare of animals is a growing concern for the general public and certainly an interest to producers. I recently heard an interesting philosophy which helped me gain a better understanding of the origin of varying viewpoints of welfare and how today’s farmers might be able to address them.

For Canada’s agricultural producers, a profitable year of farming depends on successfully managing multiple, and often simultaneous, sources of risk such as weather, market prices and disease. Of all the risks faced by producers, the major one is price risk.

“Having a business strategy that includes managing price risk is essential,” says Gwen Paddock, RBC Royal Bank’s national manager, agriculture and agribusiness.