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Working in agriculture can
feel like a cross between playing
The
Game of Life
,
The Settlers of Catan
and
The
Farming Game
(with a little poker thrown
in for fun). No matter how well you plan
or how good your strategy is, sometimes
the cards just don’t go your way.
In
The Farming Game
, your fortunes
can decline in a moment based on picking
up a bad “Farmer’s Fate” card, mimicking
the trials of real life when the weather
turns or the combine breaks down. In
comparison, a game like
The Settlers of
Catan
seems more strategy-based to start
with, allowing for good planning as you
build roads and settlements to key ports
and raw materials. But if the dice are
against you, even the best strategy won’t
win the game.
The good news is that, in real life,
multiple strategies are at play—meaning
we aren’t always pawns on a chessboard.
We are real players with real opportuni-
ties. Which means that, if we play our
cards right, we can limit risk while also
seeking out new prospects. And that’s
the best analogy I have for talking about
the importance of international trade to
Canadian agriculture.
In the past year alone, the Govern-
ment of Canada has announced two
game-changing trade agreements: the
Canada–European Union Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement and the
Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Canada is an active participant in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations
while also monitoring the largely stalled
World Trade Organization talks and ac-
tively engaging in trade discussions with
many other nations.
This focused and committed trade agen-
da is good news for Canadian farmers
and for agri-business.
By cementing deals with strong
world economies in Europe, Asia
and along the Pacific corridor,
we are guaranteeing demand for
top-quality Canadian agri-
culture products for years to
come. This means a more stable
economy, and a better future
for all Canadians. It also means
countless more jobs in key sectors
from agriculture and food service to
information technology and medical
life sciences.
As Canadians, we are able to manage
risk by ensuring there are always markets
that want access to our agricultural prod-
ucts, which makes good sense in a board
game and even better sense in real life.
Our strong trade agenda is also good
news in terms of sustainability and social
responsibility.
We hear a lot about how Canada is
one of the few countries in the world
that can produce more food than we will
consume. We hear about our
responsibil-
ity
to feed the rest of the world. And of
course we know all about the responsi-
bilities we have to our own families and
communities.
The reason I’m proud of Canada’s pro-
active trade agenda is because our foreign
policy is balanced around the globe. From
Colombia, Morocco and Honduras to Ja-
pan, China and the U.S., we are building a
sustainable world economy through open
trade. Our prerequisite for doing business
is not a high GDP, but rather a nation’s
openness to build its economy through
Strategies for TheGameof Life
By lisa skierka
Tall
WISHES
strong partnerships. In building these
relationships, we are working to build a
world that allows people in developing
regions to be part of a strong and dynamic
global economy. And we are also investing
in building strong democracies.
As Canadians, we also benefit socially
through engaging these nations in build-
ing their infrastructure and quality of life.
The world really is shrinking, and—al-
though we will continue to celebrate local
food—the reality is that sometimes we
want to eat nectarines from Costa Rica in
December and kiwis from New Zealand
in March. It also means that nations we
trade with can buy Canadian wheat and
barley in the fall and winter, and then
turn around and buy from Australia in the
spring and summer when Canadian stocks
are getting low. It’s just good business.
Lisa Skierka is the general manager of
Alberta Barley.
Fall
2014
grainswest.com
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Managingrisk andopportunity