“Lean” principles originally developed to increase efficiency and reduce waste in the automobile manufacturing sector are being applied in many other business and process-related sectors, including primary agriculture. Toyota is often credited as the first company to develop and intentionally implement Lean principles in their assembly lines decades ago. Last year, the Agri-Food Management Institute,... Read More
Category: Finance
How does that old saying go? Crop prices take the stairs up but the elevator down. It could be said that crop input prices do the exact opposite. Price trends of both variable and fixed inputs seem to march to their own drum. Variable input prices are slow to back off highs; fixed costs can... Read More
There are seven common types of risks to your farm business. There's price risk, weather risk, production risk and more, but have you thought about opportunity disguised as risk? If you're comfortable playing the odds on big projects or plays, how do you find balance in other parts of your farm business? How do you... Read More
Mind Your Farm Business (MYFB) is a 12-part audio series exploring a wide-range of farm business management topics. Featuring thought-provoking leading experts in an engaging format, MYFB is brought to you by RBC Royal Bank. You can find the full series by tapping here. How many times have you let your gut make a big... Read More
RealAgriculture, the Canadian agriculture digital media leader, is launching a new audio series to assist producers in building their farm management skills. The 12-part series — Mind Your Farm Business — is sponsored by RBC Royal Bank, and new episodes will be released twice a month, beginning June 9th, 2015. Agriculture is not isolated from... Read More
Does farm size matter when it comes to managing interest rate hikes? It does, says Greg Pate, economic policy analyst with Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, but not in the way you may think. Bernard Tobin spoke with Pate at a recent half-day farm finance conference held at Guelph, Ont., to talk... Read More
Cattle producers will have access to significantly higher borrowing limits under an enhanced Manitoba Livestock Associations Loan Guarantee (MLALG) program, according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development minster, Ron Kostyshyn. The borrowing limit for the MLALG program has increased to up to $8 million from $5 million for associations and up to $500,000 from... Read More
Ontario beef farmers will now have access to double the individual loan limits under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee program. For the purchasing of feeder cattle, new members who are enrolled in the program are now able to access a loan for up to $100,000 (an increase of $50,000), and existing members are now... Read More
While much of the public conversation has been focused on UPOV ’91 and plant breeders rights, changes are also being made to the federal government’s Advance Payments Program now that Bill C-18 — the Agricultural Growth Act — has become law. The amendments to the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act are supposed to make cash advances... Read More
Have you ever heard someone say that today's business environment is "the new normal"? There is no such thing as the new normal. Most times the "old normal" is the reality in the long run. Remember when corn was $7.50 and canola was $15 and it was a "new normal" in the markets? We've recently... Read More