It would be an understatement to say that the year 2007 was an "active" year for agriculture in Saskatchewan, or "interesting".

There were some significant trends and changes that took place over the year, some of which will carry on into 2008, and is sure to make life quite interesting on many levels for producers.

For the grain sector, there were some record-setting levels for such grains as durum and milling wheat in the past year, and with the Pool Return Outlook released shortly before the end of 2007, it seems world supplies of board grains at least will continue to be tight.

This will be good news for producers who have wheat, durum and barley to sell, and may have some effect on the planning that needs to take place for seeding in the spring. Some good prices seem destined to stay strong right through to August of 2008, and yet the future is unknown, particularly in terms of what growing weather our producers will have this year, and what further market conditions may develop on the international scene.

Playing into this mix is the continuing saga of the Canadian Wheat Board versus the Conservative government, as the latter is determined to give farmers "choice" in how they market their barley; a court hearing is coming in February, and this issue will be at the forefront of many ag-related discussions.

In regard to other grains, there are always market considerations at play, not to mention what level the Canadian dollar is at; the higher it is, the lower the returns to farmers on board grains.

For livestock, cattle producers in particular are facing hard times with depressed prices, and there's no sign on the horizon that this will improve at all. The Conservatives and the provincial Agriculture ministers did put together a loans program to try and help with producers' cash flow problems, but there's not much help outside of that. Hog producers are not in much better shape, and indeed some pundits predict the hog industry will be in the most trouble of all livestock producers this year.

With murmurings of a possible federal election on the horizon, this would not be a good time for livestock producers to be wondering if any real help will be forthcoming from their governments, or when the markets are going to rebound in their favour. For the livestock sector, now is the time for the governments to put their money where their mouth is, and recognize these producers are in need of support at this time.

This year will probably also see further developments of the biofuels industry in this country, and this may present value-added opportunities for farmers as suppliers of the raw stock needed.

With the new year upon us, 2008 will likely have some volatility and some changes, but hopefully in the end it will be to the benefit of producers, as they try to rebound from some very tough years. - Greg Nikkel