Farm Credit Canada Archives

When looking for a mentor, find someone who isn’t too busy and is a good listener.

Want to be a more successful farmer? Find a mentor

How you can harness the power of mentorship

By Helen Lammers-Helps August 12, 2019

Research shows the five-year survival rate for small and medium enterprises jumps from fewer than half to more than 70 per cent if mentors are involved. That’s according to Virginia McGowan, a certified mentor who witnessed this powerful transformation while running a mentorship program for a group of 70 female entrepreneurs in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The […] Read more

Guide Business, News, Succession strategy

Does Canada have enough young farmers?

The country has lost 70 per cent of the farmers in its under-35 category in just 25 years

By Lorraine Stevenson July 31, 2019

There are encouraging signs all across the country. At the University of Manitoba’s School of Agriculture convocation this spring, 58 graduates took home their two-year diplomas. At Ridgetown Campus of the University of Guelph in Ontario, 267 crossed the stage in late May, and at Olds College in Alberta, another 81 diplomas were handed out […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Weather

Flexibility available for farmers on FCC loan payments

By GFM Staff June 24, 2019

Farm Credit Canada says it remains willing to work around the various forces majeures standing between its farmer clients and their cash flows this year. The Crown lending agency reiterated Monday it will work with customers “to come up with solutions for their operations on a case-by-case basis” in view of this spring’s weather worries […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Weather

China, drought, debt shake Canadian farm finances

By Kelsey Johnson, Rod Nickel June 19, 2019

Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — For years, the financial stability of Canadian farmers was the envy of their U.S. counterparts, but rising costs, drought and a dispute with China have weakened their bottom lines. Net incomes plunged last year, and that setback was followed in March by China’s halting purchases of canola, Canada’s biggest crop. Now […] Read more

General, Markets

Report shows slower pace for rising farmland values

By GFM Staff April 29, 2019

While lower-valued farmland more often showed a higher rate of increase, and price hikes varied from region to region, Canada’s farmland values on average have booked their slowest year-over-year rate of increase in almost a decade. That’s according to the annual Farmland Values Report from Farm Credit Canada (FCC), in which the federal ag lending […] Read more

Livestock, Machinery

FCC offers up new Starter Loans

By GFM Staff March 3, 2019

“Preferential” loan rates are available to young farmers or agribusinesspeople planning start-ups through a new Farm Credit Canada lending program. Lawrence MacAulay, addressing the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s annual meeting Wednesday in Ottawa when he was still federal minister of agriculture, unveiled the federal ag lending agency’s new Starter Loan Program. The program, according to […] Read more

While new technology is an important part of farm production, it’s a business risk that will need to be managed carefully.

Guide Business, Management

The road ahead

Our panel tackles the question: What are the big farm business risks for the next five to 10 years — and what skills, actions and mindsets will be critical in taking them on?

By Treena Hein February 14, 2019

Picture yourself driving in traffic. Then, you begin noticing that the traffic is increasing, not just in the number of vehicles around you but also in the speed they are travelling at. Some of the traffic rules seem to be changing too, and the driver controls in your vehicle are all new and confusing as […] Read more

General, Markets

Ag seen gaining on slightly weaker loonie in 2019

By Ashley Robinson - MarketsFarm January 11, 2019

CNS Canada — Farm Credit Canada (FCC) predicts the Canadian dollar will spend the year around the 75-U.S. cent mark — slightly softer than last year’s average of 76. “We’re going to see volatility throughout the year obviously but when we look at that season, or the full year average, we’re looking for it to […] Read more

Guide Business

Is it time to rethink your farm debt?

Debt has soared with farm income. For most farms, that’s good. But what about yours?

By Treena Hein December 11, 2018

Over the past decade, the consensus among Canada’s ag economists has been clear. Yes, farmers have accumulated more debt than ever. But the debt load is manageable. There’s no looming crisis. Now, however, with the prospect of a series of modest interest rate hikes, can we still be so complacent? First, let’s look at the […] Read more

A weak Canadian dollar is beneficial overall to Canadian farmers as they export the majority of their agricultural products.

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

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

Japan set to grant TPP-level access for U.S. beef, pork

New EU import curbs on fruit not Canada-specific

U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit down as trade war heats up

GFM Network News