With farmland under pressure from urban expansion, conservation needs, and economic development, it raises the critical — and contentious — question: who should decide how land is used? Private landowners' rights are essential and rightfully expected in Canada, but there's also an argument to be made that the public has a stake in land-use decisions... Read More
Category: Farm Management
Farm safety is often overlooked in the hectic pace of daily chores, making training and emergency plans critically important. That's why winter can be a great time to focus on safety, says Jody Wacowich, executive director of AgSafe Alberta. Courses such as FARMERS CARE, respiratory protective equipment (RPE), and confined space awareness are all available... Read More
With numerous challenges facing Canadian agriculture and tariffs being a major concern, Justine Hendricks, president and CEO of Farm Credit Canada (FCC), says that it is important to stay focused on what FCC is calling a "generational opportunity" through collaboration and doubling down on investments and innovations that increase productivity. In this interview with RealAgriculture's... Read More
The advancement of technology has been a game changer when it comes to the ability to communicate, shop, pay for goods and services, and even farm. From internet access to GPS-equipped tractors and combines, online connectivity has made many tasks easier. There can be risks associated with being online, however simple steps can help enhance... Read More
Some parts of the country have seen more success protecting farmland than other regions, but when you add it up, Canada continues to lose an astonishing amount of farmland to urban expansion. The oft-cited statistic from the most recent Census of Agriculture is that Ontario alone loses an average of 319 acres of farmland every... Read More
Lower crop prices and sinking margins in 2024 pushed Southwestern Ontario farmland growth into negative territory for the first time in 14 years, according to an annual survey of farmland in the region. Ryan Parker, partner and agricultural appraiser at London-based Valco Consultants, says a 1.43 per cent drop in farmland prices across the region... Read More
The federal government has partially changed its mind and is deferring the increase to the capital gains tax inclusion rate that took effect last June. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Friday that the implementation date of the inclusion rate increase from one-half to two-thirds will be delayed from June 25, 2024 to January 1,... Read More
There's been no avoiding the talk of tariffs in the weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Trump and his subsequent pledge to implement 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on February 1st. New data from RealAgristudies confirms and quantifies the level of concern in Canada's agriculture sector. The results are based... Read More
National organizations representing Canadian farmers and ranchers are calling on the federal government to reverse its decision to administer changes to the capital gains tax that were announced in the federal budget last year. The Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Cattle Association, and Grain Growers of Canada issued a statement last week to say the... Read More
When it comes to land use, some ways that land provides value are easy to measure and monetize, such as growing crops, raising livestock, or developing real estate. But other types of value, especially those that benefit broader society, like providing biodiversity, wildlife habitat preservation, carbon sequestration, and flood or fire risk mitigation, are much... Read More