Pulse prices are likely to come under pressure due to large existing supplies. Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse prices feel pressure from rising ending stocks

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada – Increasing pulse ending stocks are going to continue to play into pulse crop prices in Canada, according to the latest update from Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) ag economics team. “We’re still expected to see ending stocks increasing. So as we continue to see that ending stocks increase, that stock-to-use-ratio that we’d see […] Read more

Access to crop input information provides a benchmark for both producers and retailers

Farm input pricing available in Canada, if you dig for it

Alberta, Ontario producers have better access to information

Reading Time: 5 minutes CNS Canada – When putting a crop in, costs can add up fast. Seed, chemicals, fertilizer are all expenses which vary year to year and it isn’t always easy to know if the price producers are paying is the best price. Producers can spend their time calling and visiting different retailers shopping around for the […] Read more



CN locomotives in Winnipeg (Photo courtesy CN)

CN apologizes as farm groups, Ottawa press on rail service

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s largest railway has taken the unusual step of apologizing for its pace of grain delivery in recent weeks and pledging “immediate steps” to improve its grain handle. After parting ways with its CEO Luc Jobin on Monday, Canadian National Railway (CN), through interim CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest, said Wednesday it “apologize(s) for not meeting the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC sees benefits in new Trans-Pacific trade pact

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The future of trade for the Canadian agriculture industry is looking bright from the perspective of Canada’s federal ag lending agency, with progress on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). According to Farm Credit Canada (FCC), anytime Canada can get less-restricted access to markets it is good for agriculture. “We can […] Read more

Flood warning

Flood warning

Will Canada’s land market drown in a torrent of new listings as more farmers get to retirement age? The truth is… nobody knows

Reading Time: 9 minutes We’ve all heard the predictions. They say that with so many of our farmers reaching their 60s and 70s all at the same time, we’re soon going to see the biggest rush of land onto the market that this country has ever witnessed. Will it happen? Will the land market get flooded sometime in the […] Read more


Canola oil was Canada’s second-highest-valued export in 2016, at US$2.3 billion.  Photo: File

Reports highlight strengths, weaknesses of Canadian ag exports

Reading Time: 3 minutes Commodity News Service Canada – There is room for improvement in the Canadian agricultural export market with competition from new markets globally, according to a pair of reports released by Farm Credit Canada. The FCC Ag Economics, Trade Ranking Report: Agriculture and FCC Ag Economics, Trade Ranking Report: Manufactured Food give overviews of Canada’s global […] Read more

There are tools that we have that I don’t think we’re maximizing,” says the FCC’s J.P. Gervais. “We need to up our game.”

Farm debt in perspective

Yes, $90 billion in farm debt is a lot, but most farmers should be able to weather most storms if they up their focus on their risk exposure

Reading Time: 9 minutes When Gwen Paddock began her finance career some three decades ago, farmers were looking for a chequing account, an operating loan and maybe some short-term financing for equipment and land. Not so today. “Farms are getting bigger with more moving parts,” says RBC’s national director of agriculture. “Now, farmers and farm operators are looking for […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC pledges flexibility for soaked Ontario, Quebec growers

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s federal ag lending agency has announced a customer support program to limit “financial pressure” on its farming clients in rain-soaked areas of western Quebec and eastern Ontario. Farm Credit Canada on Wednesday announced the program, in which it said it “will work with customers to come up with solutions for their operation(s) to reduce […] Read more

Piggy Bank and canadian dollars close up shot

Stress tests for change

Here’s a quick way to keep your eye on your cash flow projections this summer to help you plan loan payments and expenses this fall

Reading Time: 4 minutes Knowing how to read and understand financial statements is one of the first steps in assessing financial risk, helping you track how you’re doing compared to previous years (or against sector averages), and how any changes may have an impact on your bank account. From a financial perspective, stress testing can be the ultimate proactive […] Read more