News
INTRODUCTION: Too busy for the financial times

Some things never seem to change. Take the news. It is almost always bad, negative or just downright pessimistic.
 

In the autumn of 2008, the news of the day is preaching doom and despair, the result of a global economic crisis borne of some very poor management decisions by mortgage holders in the US. In spite of the actions of those few “bad apples,” we have all heard the panicked warnings of the money-lenders and financial watchdogs. They write of the depth and scope of a recession that is forecast to strike Canada in 2009, and of course, the media are rife with up-to-the-minute reports of catastrophic downturns on the Dow or the TSX, while recoveries are usually downplayed or buried on back pages.

Yet the frustrating part is that it is hard to know whether to be scared about this pending economic disaster, be moderately concerned about its overall impact, or to just keep punching away, day in, day out, like we always do.
 
Projections and warnings of sell-offs can be made but it makes one wonder if it only applies to those with money to invest? Or does this begin to reach everyone at one level or another, regardless of their blue-chip investments  – or lack, thereof?

Unfortunately, talk of hard times on the global marketplace may attempt to shift the focus from what is most important in the world of agriculture: the harvest.  Investment portfolios may rise and fall, but the simple truth for those who work the land is that those crops that have been sewn must now be reaped. The markets may plummet, then stagger back to some level of equilibrium, but when the weather presents that window of opportunity to combine that crop, there is little else that matters.

Some things never seem to change.

Despite global economic concerns, or concerns of a more domestic economic nature, farming must continue its cycle of seed and harvest. And it is difficult to clearly identify whether that is a testament to its longstanding tradition or just an inevitable fact of farming life. News of food shortages and markets that are spiralling may come and go  – and often do. But the crops must be planted, cared for and then harvested. Farming continues, in deference to and in spite of what Tokyo or London has to say.
 
In many ways, that is good news in this time of economic upheaval and uncertainty, much like “the sun will rise again tomorrow.”
 
As with farming, Top Crop Manager continues with its task of pulling together a solid lineup of stories to help you with the business of farming. In our annual Seed Focus issue, we have collected a series of stories from our correspondents as well as some researchers that targets everything from the need for certified seed to disease resistance to end-use applications. It is an informative array that, like always, is intended to help you enhance your bottom line, and serve as a valuable resource.
 
No matter what the world financial picture provides, Top Crop Manager continues to plant those seeds of interest, and harvest the ideas, and make them available to you.
 
Farming is constant and consistent, and that is how we strive to do business, as well.