Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever waited for something to go on sale, then it never does and you’re stuck paying full price, or maybe even more? A question I often get from farmers is how they can manage their fertilizer price fluctuations. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, fertilizer is the fourth-largest operating expense for Canadian farms […] Read more
Fertilizer prices and the stock market
In the past, the stock price of agricultural manufacturing and supply companies has given a clue to the future
Succession planning: Preparing for takeoff
How one Manitoba family's farm business succession plan is taking flight
Reading Time: 9 minutes Case Study Objective Four children in their late 20s and early 30s, all want to be part of this family farm and aerial spraying business. First Step The Parsonage family transferred ownership before operational management. The parents had used some of their capital gains exemption earlier when buying out of partnership, and about that time […] Read more
Manitoba, Canadian farmland values up again in 2015
Farm Credit Canada says the annual percentage increase in farmland values is getting smaller
Reading Time: 4 minutes Manitoba farmland values led the way with the highest average percentage increase in Canada last year, says Farm Credit Canada (FCC). But the pace of increases the last few years here and across Canada is slowing in step with the plateauing of farm cash receipts, and slower drop in interest rates, J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief […] Read more
A return to tractor marketing
There are gaps in tractor assembly lines again, and manufacturers are looking to marketers to fill them
Reading Time: 5 minutes It was a rare sight to see this tractor return to the factory where it had been built nearly four decades earlier. But that was exactly what I saw while standing inside the R&D facility at Versatile’s Winnipeg tractor assembly plant earlier this winter. The one-off prototype model 1080 tractor, which became affectionately known as […] Read more
Farming in a troubled economy
It looks like a weak dollar isn’t so good for agriculture after all
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers almost universally accept the premise that a drop in the Canadian dollar is bullish for our agriculture because our commodities are priced off the U.S. This increases our prices domestically and also makes us more competitive both in the U.S. and in regions where commodity transactions are made in American dollars. But is this […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Writing the book on Canada’s farms (2)
Reading Time: 2 minutes Two issues ago, I asked, what would it look like if the business section at Chapters was crammed with books about our farmers? Business books are popular for a reason. It’s easy to mock them, I know, especially the ego strokers that get written so breathlessly by ghost writers who understand there is only one […] Read more
ElectricPOWER your farm implements?
These 700-volt systems may be the kickstart the industry needs
Reading Time: 3 minutes For a group of young boys standing around the Fendt display at the Agritechnica machinery expo in Hanover, Germany, earlier this winter, the prototype model Former 12555X electric hay rake on show was a little like a video game. By sliding a finger across a screen, they could use the touch pad computer on the […] Read more
What will the TPP mean for your farm?
AME Management: Overall, Canadian farmers get increased market access from TPP, plus better dispute settlement
Reading Time: 3 minutes The October 2015 Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is a substantial trade treaty for its 12 members, and like other trade treaties, it will introduce concessions on market access, such as tariff reductions and increased import quotas, as discussed below. But there is also considerable focus on food safety regulations as well as on biotechnology […] Read more
Pitfalls on the road to value adding
So you’ve got a great idea. But can you actually grow a solid business around it?
Reading Time: 5 minutes At first glance, creating a value-added business may seem a lucrative way to increase profits and employ family members, but the road to success can be filled with potholes. Below, our experts and experienced value-adders list the dangers, and provide advice on how to avoid them. 1. Being star-struck by your own product Gary Morton, a […] Read more
Farmers and focus groups
More companies are asking more farmers to sit in on focus groups. Should you agree? What rules should you expect?
Reading Time: 8 minutes From the day the first farmer put the first seed in the ground, there’s never been a farmer who didn’t have a wealth of opinions. Nor have there been very many farmers who take much if any persuading to share what they think. In today’s more sophisticated world, however, the game has changed. Companies want […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
