Reading Time: 2 minutes The Bank of Canada on Wednesday reduced its key benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent, its first bigger-than-usual move in more than four years, and hailed signs the country has returned to an era of low inflation.
Bank of Canada cuts rates, hails ‘good news’ on low inflation
Canada’s inflation eases to 1.6 per cent, increasing chances of 50 bps rate cut
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada's annual inflation rate slowed more than expected to 1.6 per cent in September, data showed on Tuesday, prompting markets to increase bets of a 50 basis point rate cut next week. The easing of inflation, which was mainly led by a huge drop in the price of gasoline, was the smallest annual increase in consumer prices since February 2021, Statistics Canada said.
Summer Series: Win from the sidelines
[Land] The spike in farmland prices has boosted the equity of farmers all across Canada. We ask McGill economist Pascal Theriault, is this a historic opportunity?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Are farmers leveraging their new-found equity to generate new business opportunities or farm wealth? To explore what farmland values mean for farms and farming across Canada, Country Guide sat down with Pascal Thériault, agricultural economist at Macdonald Campus, McGill University and vice-president of Quebec’s Ordre des agronomes. Country Guide (CG): The specifics vary across the […] Read more
Summer Series: Where will land prices be in 10 years?
[Land] Insider predictions on what to expect from land prices in the next decade
Reading Time: 5 minutes There is just one word to describe the value of farmland in Canada: high. Or maybe that should be HIGH. Cultivated farmland across Canada jumped an average 12.8 percent last year, says Farm Credit Canada. It’s the biggest jump since 2014 and part of an upward trend that has seen land values post continuous gains […] Read more
Summer Series: Opportunities ahead
[Change Management] What’s in store for Canada’s farms in 2024? The news is good, mostly
Reading Time: 10 minutes Land is up. Inputs are up. Commodities are volatile. And that’s just a start. Climate change is getting real. Interest rates are too. And the international scene is chaos. Does it all add up to good news for your farm in 2024? Bad news? And what can you do to keep your farm on the […] Read more
Farmers are losing the perception battle on food prices
[Make It Count: The Battle] No wonder consumers are confused. One moment we say the carbon tax will drive up the cost of food. The next we say it can’t
Reading Time: 6 minutes Like many farmers I am worried about the the misunderstandings the general public has about farming and where their food comes from. This concern has prompted me to spend many hours in classrooms talking to students about agriculture. For a number of years, I was a regional co-ordinator for the classroom agriculture program arranging speakers […] Read more
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.
Canada’s jobs growth stalls in December as wages accelerate
Declines in goods sector driven by job losses in manufacturing, construction and agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada's economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate remained at 5.8 per cent, but permanent employees' wages increased at the fastest pace in three years, data showed on Friday.
World food price index ends 2023 some ten per cent below 2022 levels
Cereal prices, vegetable oils slumped most over the year, FAO says
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 118.5 points in December, down 1.5 per cent from November and 10.1 per cent below December 2022 levels.
Canadian food inflation to slow through 2024, report says
More certainty has brought an uptick in grocer promotions, but consumers are struggling
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian food prices are expected to rise between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2024, according to a new report.
“It is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy and various other expenditures,” according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2024.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
