The Southwest Booster
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STRAIGHT TALK ON AGRICULTURE Agricultural producers had an opportunity to get the latest perspectives about economic and market conditions during the 12th annual Ag Outlook at the Living Sky Casino Event Centre in Swift Current, Jan. 23. The complimentary event is organized annually by Innovation Federal Credit Union, which originally started the event, and Stark & Marsh, which has been co-hosting since 2019. It was presented virtually for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and 2024 marked the return of an in-person format as well as a virtual attendance option. There were around 100 producers in the room and over 140 virtual attendees from three countries and 13 different states or provinces. The main speaker at Ag Outlook was agricultural and market analyst Brad Magnusson, a founding member of a Winnipeg-based consulting firm. He provided a world economic outlook and also made presentations about the commodities and cattle outlook. He noted the global economy is on track to record the slowest economic growth in 30 years by the end of 2024. However, the risk of a global recession has receded due to the strength of the United States economy and the global economy is in a better place than 12 months ago. Tight financial conditions and slow economic growth will continue. He cautioned that growing geo-political tension is an additional uncertainty that can have an impact on the world economy. The program for the day-long event included an expert speaker panel that discussed farm transition and retirement planning. The other keynote speaker for the event was Lesley Kelly, an entrepreneur who farms with her family on a grain farm at Watrous, Saskatchewan. She co-founded the Do More Agriculture Foundation, a not-for-profit organization championing mental health in agriculture across Canada. The focus of her presentation was to create a better understanding of how to recognize the signs of stress and ways to deal with it by talking, listening and supporting. She referred to the various stressors that farmers experience and that can be caused by farming, and she spoke about how producers can create a management culture on their farms that incorporate self-care strategies.