When margins tighten, farm management decisions become even more important. Yet some of the toughest decisions producers face aren't driven by markets, weather, or policy—they're shaped by human behaviour. On this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney speaks with Ben Brown, agricultural economist at the University of Missouri, about the... Read More
Category: Business Risk Management
As governments begin looking ahead to the next agricultural policy framework, industry groups are pushing to ensure the conversation extends beyond business risk management (BRM) programs and focuses on long-term competitiveness, innovation, and growth. Scott Ross, executive director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), outlines the organization's priorities ahead of the federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) agriculture... Read More
The Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP) has published a 2nd Edition of the Saskatchewan Rangeland Health Assessment for Native Grasslands. This updated assessment tool was a collaborative grassroots effort among several prairie stakeholders and builds on the initial 2008 edition, the group says. A range health assessment is a point-in-time evaluation of a... Read More
The risks facing Canadian producers have been changing and are getting worse. The January 2026 Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index highlighted that 75% of respondents expect more risk in 2026, continuing a trend in which farmers see more risk on the horizon. And over 75% of Canada’s farmers report overwhelming stress and anxiety caused by the... Read More
Canada’s approach to agricultural risk management is facing growing pressure as producers navigate a more volatile and complex operating environment. In this Ag Policy Exchange webinar, co-hosts Shaun Haney of RealAgriculture and Tyler McCann with the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) unpack how current business risk management (BRM) tools are struggling to keep pace with... Read More
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to rattle fertilizer markets, creating both price volatility and supply concerns for Ontario grain farmers heading into spring. At the Grain Farmers of Ontario March Classic in Niagara Falls, Gus Ternoey, GFO executive committee member, says the U.S.- Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz... Read More
It's no secret that there are challenges in terms of farm profitability in 2026, which is driving critical policy questions to assist producers through the difficult times. Governments have different tools they have engaged, including insurance, business risk management, and the advanced payments program. In the United States, there are similar tools, but on top... Read More
The 2025 federal budget announced several updates to AgriStability, aiming to strengthen Canada’s primary business risk management program for agricultural producers. The budget allocates $109.2 million for 2025–26 to support the federal-provincial-territorial cost-shared program, which provides financial assistance when a farm’s margins fall sharply due to factors beyond a producer’s control. Starting in 2025, AgriStability’s... Read More
Ontario farmers can access several risk management program options through Agricorp, including crop winterkill coverage, crop insurance, and risk management plans for lamb, calves, and piglets. Lamb producers were surprised to learn in late September that no Risk Management Program (RMP) payment would be issued for lamb sales made for the first half of 2025.... Read More
By Heather Watson, executive director, Farm Management Canada It’s no secret that Canada’s farmers are under immense pressure. Battling unpredictable markets, weather extremes, rising input costs, labour shortages, and shifting policies, over 75 per cent of our farmers report feeling overwhelmed by the deep uncertainty of the agricultural sector and the sense of being at... Read More