Millions and millions of dollars worth of crops are being combined here in southeastern Manitoba these days as farmers reap the rewards of their hard work. A farm economist says all of us should take note of the huge impact that harvest has on our lives. J.P. Gervais, the chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada, says all the money being generated now by farmers will filter into the economy as they pay their bills and purchase supplies and equipment.

J.P. Gervais"It means sales for dealerships and equipment manufacturers, it means wages for the people who work in these businesses. So when I say it's the foundation, I do believe that it starts right here (with harvest)."Gervais says agriculture is responsible for one in eight jobs and six to seven per cent of the entire economy with much of the money being generated now during the harvest.

"If you think of it, a lot of those one-in-eight jobs, a lot of that 6-7% of the entire Canadian economy, actually starts right now, a lot of it being on the Prairies and in Manitoba. If you pause for a second and you really think about all of that, it's actually pretty impressive."

Gervais says it appears farmers here in the southeast are getting good yields of good quality grain this year which will see them through another year. He notes the outlook shows that commodity prices will stay relatively flat in the coming years which will pose a big challenge going forward.

"If you look at the last ten years, we've had an environment in which pricing was driving a lot of the higher cash receipts and revenues we were getting at the farm level whereas, right now, we're looking at a few years where it's going to be mostly production that is going to drive farm cash receipts. So it is really important for our producers to be focusing on efficiency, being more productive, getting higher yields. Demand for Canadian commodities is not going to be weaker but the fact is that our competitors have actually been able to increase production so we're going to have to be doing the same."