Reading Time: 6 minutes Whole-farm margin insurance has been available through Agristability since the Growing Forward programs were first launched. However, the program was plagued with complexity, its reputation fell, and five years ago it was trimmed significantly. Yet farm risk is on the way up with rising input costs, higher debt levels, and volaltile weather and prices. Now, […] Read more
Unrisky business
GARS goes private with a government program, and looks to win with farmers on both sides of the border
U.S. farm groups oppose Trump’s cuts to ag spending
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm groups on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash agriculture spending, viewing it as a fresh threat to a struggling farm economy. The White House on Monday proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal government funding for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years, including […] Read more
Alberta pledges ‘streamlined’ crop insurance inspections
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s provincial crop insurance agency will “streamline” its inspection procedures to better deal with unharvested acres from last fall, the government said Wednesday. The announcement from provincial Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier follows a conference call with officials from Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) and from the province’s wheat, barley, canola and pulse grower commissions. “Balancing […] Read more
Alberta farm groups want provincial action on unharvested crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes A coalition of Alberta farm groups calling itself “Team Alberta” is meeting with the province’s agriculture minister and representatives from the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) on Wednesday seeking immediate action regarding approximately one million unharvested acres still sitting in farmers’ fields. They are recommending that farmers in the hardest hit areas of Alberta be […] Read more
Building a new Agriculture Policy Framework
After a decade of “Growing Forward” programs, Ottawa is developing a new five-year Agricultural Policy Framework this spring. What should be in it?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Canadian farmers are watching as the negotiations for the next Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) gyrate to completion, paving the way for the launch of the new, five-year plan in the first quarter of 2018. This new document will be immensely influential, defining how federal and provincial government ag spending will be allocated for the following […] Read more
Can you count on AgriStability?
A lot depends on the kind of operation you’re running, and whether you use family labour
Reading Time: 5 minutes Sue and Jim started farming by buying 300 acres, with buildings. By renting additional land, they quickly expanded to 2,500 acres. They supported this expansion with machinery that was mainly leased, and hired custom harvesting. They relied on a bank line of credit for much of their operating money. The last five years were good, […] Read more
OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more
Deciding on AgriStability
AgriStability has never been popular with farmers, and there’s a burgeoning lobby to get it improved. But keeping your farm enrolled still looks like the right move
Reading Time: 9 minutes If you ask farmers what they think of AgriStability, chances are you’ll hear grumbling, some of it pretty loud. But as farm groups gear up to negotiate with the federal government over the next round of Growing Forward programs, it’s time to examine what’s actually working, what’s not, and what’s misunderstood about the program. What’s […] Read more
Alberta to launch malt barley insurance
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta is set to launch Canada’s first crop insurance product for malt barley this year. The province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) last week said it will now provide insurance coverage for a malting end-use for growers with malt barley contracts. The coverage is subject to a contract from a licensed buyer, with a minimum […] Read more
Cargill to sell crop insurance unit to Silveus
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill will sell its crop insurance business to the Silveus Insurance Group next month, the two companies said Tuesday. The deal will close the second week in January, said Tyler Silveus, CEO for Silveus, based in Warsaw, Indiana. “We are not disclosing terms of the deal, other than we are […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
