Happy Tuesday! ☕ Grab your coffee, knock the dust off your boots, and let's talk dirt — the kind you farm and the kind you buy.
The biggest farmland sale in Canadian history just flipped from "coming soon" to "now showing," a pair of Prairie grain elevators are fighting for their lives, and the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to a size we haven't seen since Elvis was in high school.
Let's dig in.
🌾 The Big Bin — Monette's Mega-Sale Just Went Live
Remember the Monette Farms fire sale we flagged on June 17? The court signed off, the "for sale" sign went up — and as of June 29, the listings are officially live. Brokers have started marketing the whole pile to buyers, so this is the part where the rubber meets the gravel road.
What happened. Swift Current-based Monette Farms — one of the largest farming operations in the country at roughly 350,000 acres — kicked off active marketing of 274,000 acres across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and B.C. under a court-supervised process. Saskatchewan land hit the market first; B.C. parcels follow the week of July 6.
Why it happened. Monette tipped into insolvency when an $829.5-million senior loan came due on April 15, landing the operation in CCAA creditor protection. A judge approved the marketing plan and an expedited track for any deal under $30 million, so the sale can move at harvest speed instead of courtroom speed.
What it means for the farm gate.
🧾 The number that turns heads: the land is appraised at roughly $1.04 billion, with about 177,000 "restricted" acres in Saskatchewan and Manitoba pegged near $725 million.
⏳ The clock is ticking. Bids run until September 1 (no later than Oct. 15), with the whole process wrapping by November 30. One Saskatchewan farm has already changed hands for $29.8 million.
📈 Don't expect a fire sale. Court monitors are calling this volume of land hitting the market at once "unprecedented," but watchers warn buyers shouldn't bank on bargain-bin prices. If you farm anywhere near these parcels, this is the listing that could reset your local land values — and hand a well-capitalized neighbour a once-in-a-generation chance to expand.
🏚️ Prairie Sentinels — Manitoba's Grain Elevators Make the "Endangered" List
No fresh agtech worth your inbox today, so we're parking the tractor and tipping our cap to the original skyscrapers of the Prairies.
The Manitoba Historical Society dropped its annual Top 10 endangered structures list on June 23, and two wooden grain elevators in Napinka, Manitoba (RM of Brenda-Waskada) made the cut.
🌾 Glory-days originals. One was built around 1923 for the Ogilvie Milling Company; the other went up in 1927 for Manitoba Pool. They hauled grain until 1984, then served as private storage right up to 2000.
🪧 Now they're on borrowed time. A demolition company has reportedly been in the picture, and a community petition is fighting to save them. As one supporter put it, grain elevators are "the beacons of the Prairies" — testaments to the folks who broke this land in the first place.
The So What? 🚜 Every one of these wooden giants that comes down takes a chunk of Prairie skyline — and farm history — with it. They're a reminder that the country elevator network we grew up with is now mostly memory and concrete terminals. Worth a moment of silence between field passes.
👉 Dig in
🐮 The Grazing Pen — Fewest Cattle Since 1951, Priciest Beef Ever
South of the border, the cow math has gone sideways — and it matters for every Canadian with cattle to sell.
🔢 The headline number: the U.S. cattle herd sits at 86.7 million head, its smallest since 1951. It's dropped six years running, down from a 2019 peak of 94.7 million.
🌵 Why it won't bounce back fast. Years of drought, sky-high costs, and the return of the New World Screwworm (which slammed the door on Mexican cattle imports in May 2025) have kept ranchers culling instead of building. U.S. feedlots took in nearly 10% fewer cattle this May than last.
🛒 The grocery-store sting: ground beef hit a record $6.89/lb, and the USDA figures beef prices climb another 10% before year-end. Packing plants in four states have already closed or cut hours.
So What? 🇨🇦 A tight North American herd and record prices are a tailwind for Canadian cow-calf and feedlot operators cashing in strong calves — and the screwworm border shuffle keeps redrawing where cattle flow. The flip side: when packers south of the line wobble, the whole continent feels it. Sell into the strength, but keep one eye on those plant closures.
📊 Stat of the Day — 200 Years of Showing Up
Think your family reunion is a grind to organize? In western Tennessee, the descendants of reverend-farmer Howell Taylor have gathered on the same plot of ground every single summer since 1826 — through the Civil War, two world wars, depressions and epidemics, never missing a year.
200 YEARS — the unbroken streak of the Taylors of Tabernacle Kinfolks Camp Meeting, where 500–700 kin still show up each July for a week of faith, farming, and famous home cooking.
One farm family. Same Tennessee field. Every summer since 1826.
Two centuries.
Zero cancellations.
That's a longer winning streak than most equipment warranties — and proof that, in farm country, blood really is thicker than water. 🤝
👋 The Sign-off
That's the kernel for today.
Whether you're sizing up a neighbour's quarter-section, mourning an old elevator, or just trying to afford a steak this long weekend — the land always finds a way to keep things interesting.
We'll see you tomorrow. 🌅
Stay sharp out there.
— The Daily Kernel