Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmland is still getting more expensive, but not quite as quickly as in recent years, according to the latest farmland value report from Canada’s biggest agricultural lender.

Farmland value growth slowed in 2023, FCC says
Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba saw strongest growth in 2023, report shows

Dairy sector set to stabilize in 2024: FCC
Feed prices, butter stocks, retail demand and inflation top trends to watch
Reading Time: 2 minutes The dairy sector seems set to stabilize in 2024 amidst high processor demand and leveling-off input costs, Farm Credit Canada says.

FCC predicts drop in farm cash receipts for 2024
Interest rates, inputs costs may come down but farmers urged to sharpen their pencils
Reading Time: 2 minutes FCC's top economist is urging farmers to find any way they can to save money, as the ag lender projects a 4.8 per cent decline in farm cash receipts in 2024 on the heels of lower commodity prices.

FCC announces new 4R incentive
The program is open to FCC customers who use AgExpert platform
Reading Time: < 1 minute FCC announced the new Sustainability Incentive Program at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon. The program is open to FCC customers who put a 4R nutrient management plan in place, record production activities through AgExpert Field, and have their 4R practices verified by a 4R designated agronomist.

Major strawberry plant producer changes hands
New owners get funding to buy Lareault business
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Quebec company billed as Canada’s largest producer of strawberry plants has picked up new ownership after nearly 70 years. Production Lareault, based on just over 450 acres at Lavaltrie, Que. — about 40 km northeast of Montreal, in the province’s Lanaudiere region — has been acquired by investors Antoine Casimir and Andrea Borodenko for […] Read more

Equipment sales expected to soften in 2024
Interest rates, equipment prices and commodity prices will all play a role, says FCC
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to FCC's 2024 outlook for the Canadian farm equipment market, new sales are projected to be softer in 2024 based on three factors: higher interest rates, elevated equipment prices and a decline in commodity prices.

FCC to offer beef heifer replacement loans
Loan program for those wanting to build, maintain herds
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cattle producers wanting to expand or maintain herds — in a time of nationwide herd contraction — are the expected beneficiaries for a new loan program from Farm Credit Canada. FCC on Tuesday announced what it calls the Replacement Heifer Program, consisting of a loan with a maximum loan life of seven years and a […] Read more

FCC offers new credit line against ‘current economic environment’
Ag lender to waive loan processing fees
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm Credit Canada’s recent outreach to specific agrifood sectors hit by unusual environmental conditions has now extended to those hit by the broader “economic environment.” The federal ag lender on Tuesday said it will offer an unsecured credit line of up to $500,000 with loan processing fees waived, “to help producers, agribusinesses and agri-food operations […] Read more

Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide
FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable
Reading Time: 4 minutes Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more

Bidding open for Merit Foods for two more weeks
Stakeholder Burcon plans to put up 'compelling bid'
Reading Time: 3 minutes The fate of Winnipeg pea- and canola-based protein processor Merit Functional Foods won’t be confirmed until the end of April at the earliest. Merit, whose major shareholders include Vancouver plant-based protein firm Burcon NutraScience, U.S. agrifood firm Bunge and former executives of Hemp Oil Canada, was placed into receivership March 1. According to the first […] Read more