When times are good, should you pay off debt? Or should you take on more debt to add productive assets, parlaying the strength of today’s commodity prices into growth?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Rémi Lemoine: I think one of the most important things it tells us is that the issue of farm debt is very complex and can’t be boiled down to simple, almost philosophical, statements like “Pay off debt during good times.” You also can’t read too much into numbers that cover the entire industry or entire […] Read moreDebt load
Big Idea: Ag and the rest
If you just looked at the raw numbers, you’d think that agriculture is waning in importance in Canada. You might even think it’s an industry in decline.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Country Guide: Should we be concerned that agriculture seems to be slipping in its importance to the Canadian economy? At eight per cent of GDP, it’s not insignificant, but there are other countries out there — say Brazil for example — where agriculture retains a far-higher proportion. Al Mussell: As much as we all have […] Read moreDamned if they didn’t
Reading Time: 9 minutes It has got to be one of the biggest corporate turnarounds in agricultural history, even if it didn’t actually change any red ink into black. Indeed, as turnarounds go, this one had only a passing connection to anything as simple as current accounts and balance sheets. Instead, the challenge was even tougher — to completely […] Read more
BIG IDEA: Built for success
Yes, incorporation is a powerful business planning tool — but don’t make the mistake of assuming it will be a permanent, painless solution to your farm transfer questions
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s no secret to anyone, says University of Saskatchewan economist Bill Brown. The past two generations have produced an enormous shift in the structure and nature of farms in Canada. Long gone are the section-sized Prairie grain operations and the 100-acre family farms in the East. They’ve been swallowed up by bigger and bigger operations, […] Read moreThe right choice
With strong farm incomes in the last two years, Canada’s farmers are moving ahead of their cousins who chose the city's bright lights
Reading Time: 8 minutes Canadian farm families aren’t just catching up to other Canadians these days. More and more, they’re pulling ahead. Of course, it’s as hard as ever to generalize about agriculture. There are differences between sectors, there are differnces between regions, and most importantly, there are differences between age groups. Even so, it looks like it’s time […] Read moreCutting Edge
Reading Time: 8 minutes In September 2008, Mark Torchia found himself in an operating theatre at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, holding his breath. The Winnipeg-based professor, researcher and medical device specialist was about to see the result of several years of hard work by himself and a team with members from the St. Boniface General Hospital, the University of […] Read more
TOO INVESTED
Reading Time: 8 minutes For years, if you saw the word agriculture in the GLOBE AND MAIL s Report on Business, you could be sure the next word would be crisis, disaster or bailout. But now the story is different. In fact, it could hardly be more different, with ag today being paired with boom, profit and growth. Overnight, […] Read more
Big Idea Bridging The Gap
Reading Time: 4 minutes When The 100-Mile Diet was topping bestseller lists in North America, the reaction of Canada s commercial-scale farmers barely rose to an apathetic OK, but so what? Most of our farmers after all are in the business of producing wholesome and affordable products that are then shipped as bulk commodities to distant cities or around […] Read more
BOOM VS. BUST
Reading Time: 8 minutes Canadian grain growers are in unfamiliar territory. Their farms are suddenly profitable. Even stranger, their farms are consistently profitable, mainly due to across-the-board strength in grain prices. And that s only the dizzy start. Suddenly, all the old economic laws about market cycles look like they were written for some other industry in some other […] Read more
BIG IDEA Balancing Act
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa says its approach to international ag talks is balanced. Our critics say we just want to get into other countries’ markets without opening up supply management so they can get into ours. Liberal and Conservative governments have supported supply management for decades and for good (political) reason. The programs are extremely popular with their […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
