Articles Written by Richard Kamchen

Acquiring more land has the potential to boost your farm business, but like anything in life, there are no guarantees.

Making a smarter deal for farmland

If farmers are so sharp at land buying, who do so many pay too much?

By Richard Kamchen March 25, 2021

Reading Time: 9 minutes On most farms, it’s among the big decisions of an entire lifetime. Do you buy that farm down the road and take on all that risk? Or do you watch someone else farm it and mutter, every time you drive, “That could have been mine”? Either way, it’s harder than anyone outside of agriculture might […] Read more

Most rental transactions still evolve into long-term relationships lasting a decade or more.

Features, Guide Business

Farmland rentals in Western Canada continue to rise

More and more acres are on the rental market, with land increasingly held by families exiting active farming

By Richard Kamchen February 22, 2021

Reading Time: 8 minutes The number of acres of rented and leased farmland in Canada is going nowhere but up, and will keep being led by Western Canada, especially Saskatchewan and Alberta. “I would expect that we’ll continue to see more people renting land for a number of reasons,” says Farm Credit Canada’s principal agricultural economist Craig Klemmer. That’s […] Read more

Real estate apps are already big business in residential markets. If they cut transaction costs, why not in agriculture too?

Guide Business

Selling land by app

When you think of it, do we really need real estate agents in an era with so much technology?

By Richard Kamchen October 6, 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes “Find me an app. I’m going to sell the back 40.” Talk is starting to make the circuit that it’s time for automation to take over farmland wheeling and dealing, and it might not be that much of a stretch. As long ago as 2013, which is ancient history for electronic technology, a University of […] Read more

There should be premiums for high-quality milling oats this year.

Crops, Markets

What to expect from grain companies premiums and discounts

Prices for different grades and protein levels are likely to vary by region throughout the crop year

By Richard Kamchen December 16, 2019

Reading Time: 4 minutes As harvest continued late into this fall, Prairie grain buyers continued to sort out what they would pay for this year’s crop. “Currently, grain company discounts and premiums for grade and protein are variable and changing almost daily as they try to determine what they can pay for these grains, what they will be able […] Read more

Sprouting in wheat triggers an enzyme that prevents bread from rising. A falling number test can determine the level of damage.

Cereals, Crops

Marketing strategies for your 2019 crop

A different approach is needed for this year’s lower-quality harvest

By Richard Kamchen December 4, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes After several years of high-quality crops across most of the Prairies, this fall’s poor harvesting conditions mean many farmers have the unenviable task of trying to unload low-grade cereals. “This year we’re going to be seeing the bulk of the (wheat) crop in the lower grades, No. 3s or feed,” says MarketsFarm analyst Bruce Burnett. […] Read more

Organic food and beverage markets totalled $4.4 billion, up from $2.8 billion in 2012, COTA estimates. Exports for 2017 were predicted to reach $607 million.

Fruit/Vegetables, Guide Business

Room to grow organic

Farmers are upping their organic output, but they’re still a long way from meeting the demand of the two-thirds of Canadians who sometimes or always shop for organic

By Richard Kamchen March 21, 2019

Reading Time: 5 minutes Led by Millennial buyers, demand for organic food across Canada is growing robustly. Demand is surging ahead of domestic production, which has been growing but not nearly fast enough to keep up. “Demand is definitely outpacing supply,” says Jill Guerra, research and special projects co-ordinator for Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA). “We need more producers […] Read more

Biobeds contain a mix of topsoil, compost and straw to absorb and then break down the pesticides to the point where they pose no further threat to the environment.

Crops

Cleaning up the leftovers

AAFC has prepared a comprehensive manual on how to use “biobeds” to process pesticide sprayer rinsate

By Richard Kamchen March 19, 2019

Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite careful calculation to mix just the right amount of pesticide to cover a field, there’s sometimes that little bit left over, or the rinsate which gets dumped onto a grassy or non-crop area, which can harm the environment. Up to 80 per cent of contaminants found in water bodies trace back to farms, according […] Read more

Guide Business, News

Black swans

What will it take to knock Canada’s farmland market out of its holding pattern?

By Richard Kamchen November 27, 2018

Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian dollar “Excluding an extraordinary shock to production or commodity prices, a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar would have the biggest impact on the supply of farmland available for sale,” says Saskatchewan realtor Tim Hammond. A weak Canadian dollar is beneficial overall to Canadian farmers as they export the majority of […] Read more

Rolling prairie landscape. Central Alberta, Canada.

Guide Business, News

Less of the same

Realtors report farm sales are slowing and that prices are stabilizing, which may be best for everyone

By Richard Kamchen November 27, 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes Barring major shocks to the agriculture sector, the outlook is for continued strong farmland values and tight farmland availability in Canada for the foreseeable future. “By and large, we see a very healthy, very robust farmland market out there, and it seems to be continuing,” says Tom Eisenhauer, president and CEO of Toronto-based Bonnefield, Canada’s […] Read more

All three provinces require that farm machinery be covered by a one-year warranty from the date of first use, and that replacement parts be available for 10 years after purchase.

Equipment, Machinery

If you’re not happy with your purchase

All three Prairie provinces have protection for farm equipment purchasers, but the provisions differ

By Richard Kamchen November 21, 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve taken parts or equipment home but they’re not working as promised, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta all have farm implement acts providing for the dealer to repair or replace them. But while the three provinces have some similar protections, they also differ significantly. All deal with the sale, lease and lease-purchase of farm equipment […] Read more

Set-aside funded for Quebec hog, cattle, big game producers

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit-down on profit-taking

Feed weekly outlook: Prairie grains firm, watching new-crop weather

GFM Network News