Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Intelligence from Canada...

[Insert your joke here].

I spoke today to a remarkable group of Canadian producers at a ski resort near Calgary.  It was 8°. (You do the math.) 

Some impressions:
  • Saskatchewan is about as far from the perils of the global recession as The Shire is from Mt. Doom. Seriously, the stunning change of political power in 2007 has unleashed a torrent of entrepreneurial output and is propelling the province forward like a miniature China.
  • Of course, oil, uranium and potash revenues don't really hurt either. Also, even Canadians admit potash prices are way outta line.
  • I'm pretty sure these guys could hand us our heads as technology users if they only had a few more years of global warming and the Canadian Wheat Board disappeared.  I was tres impressed with the sessions I sat through.
  • I drove to the Kananaskis resort area in the rain, but coming back today, it was one of the most dazzling mountain vistas this flatlander has ever beheld.
  • I'm going to get some of the files from the presentations I saw.  The one on fertilizer was truly impressive with one chart that really captures this bizarre market. (Pure tease)
  • As the new administration works to undo years of unproductive socialist programs they are racking up impressive economic gains that will be harder to sustain long-term, I think.
  • Canada's livestock industry is already hurting - especially hogs. Any hint of more protectionism from the US (and I think it's coming) will not be good news for this cattle-intense province.
  • I now know more about Falling Numbers than I want to.
No pictures, but I'm getting a new Blackberry in August. (It's amazing how our lives revolve around cell-phone contracts.)

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