If you're frustrated by how government support programs are designed or overwhelmed by navigating the paperwork, you're certainly not alone. The numbers speak for themselves — enrolment in the main suite of federal programs has been dropping steadily for years. A recent letter from the Standing Committee on Agriculture to the Minister of Agriculture and... Read More
Category: Farm Management
The Liberal Member of Parliament who chairs the House of Commons' agriculture committee has written a letter to his colleague who serves as agriculture minister pointing out the flaws in the government's business risk management (BRM) programs for agriculture. The agriculture committee has been studying the federal government's suite of risk management programs, which includes... Read More
Just like farmers take pride in putting in the hard work and long hours to see a job done, now is not the time to take our foot off the gas of the mental health and wellness conversation in agriculture. "I can understand how people can start to be feeling burnt out about hearing about... Read More
In this RealAg LIVE! episode with Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Mary joins host Shaun Haney to discuss agricultural policy issues including temporary foreign workers, business risk management programs, and engaging with youth and minorities. Check out the video below, or scroll down to read the summary! Tune in Thursday,... Read More
Father's Day for many farm families involves a BBQ, gifts, maybe some golf, and likely some farm work if the weather is right for spraying. Like mothers, fathers play an integral role in the family farm business. For any family business there are smooth days, rocky ones and outright turbulent days that test the ties... Read More
Is a profitable farm the most successful farm? Or is it the largest land base, the one with the newest equipment? Or is it the one whose operator takes a vacation every year or has the lowest debt? Earlier this week, we talked to Dr. Greg Ibendahl, of Kansas State University, and we talked about... Read More
When it comes to farm profitability and land base, bigger isn't better; better is better. That's one of the findings of a recent study led by Dr. Gregg Ibendahl, associate professor with Kansas State University. The study looked at 10 years of data for a range of farm sizes, from about 500 acres to several... Read More
In an era of "cheap" money, farms could take advantage to solve working capital shortages, set aside savings, or plan for a business transition. But debt restructuring, or taking on more debt even at low rates, is not without its pitfalls. For this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, Terry Betker, president, and... Read More
What would the Conservative Party of Canada do with AgriStability and other business risk programs? Does this current Liberal government understand agriculture at all? What can farmers expect to change when the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement comes into effect July 1? If the answers to any of those questions interest you, check out this RealAg LIVE! segment... Read More
Statistics Canada released its 2019 farm income and debt report this week, and it showed that realized net income of Canadian agricultural producers rose for the first time in three years. Net income was up 10.4 per cent to $4.9 billion in 2019, but as J.P. Gervais, chief economist of Farm Credit Canada (FCC) points... Read More