Farm Credit Canada's Chief Economist suggests there are three economic indicators Canadian farmers need to watch over the next three months.
J-P Gervais says a lower loonie increases the price producers get for commodities priced in U-S dollars - such as wheat, soybeans and corn.
In the short term, Gervais says domestic Canadian prices should be supported by the weaker Canadian dollar.
He says producers should also keep an eye on the strength of our exports to the U-S.
Gervais suggests a weaker Canadian dollar should make Canadian products more affordable for U-S buyers.
But he points out the currency of our competitors has also lost value against the U-S dollar, potentially hurting our competitiveness in the American market.
And the FCC economist says world economic jitters - especially what's going on in China - will also have an impact on Canadian agricultural exports.
He thinks a major decline in the Chinese swine herd should open up opportunities in the pork market and the Chinese market accounts for 65 per cent of the world's soybean trade.
Gervais says the problem is that the economic outlook for China is murky - so it's not clear how much money will be available to import agricultural products.
