Reading Time: 4 minutes Stocks continuing to plunge during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic have left agricultural producers in Canada concerned about the potential impact. Thursday marked the biggest drop in Canadian stocks in 80 years, highlighted by many economists warning the country is on the brink of recession. Beyond growing fears of COVID-19’s economic impact, oil and gas stocks […] Read more
Impacts on ag expected as COVID-19 rocks markets
Farmers urged to manage expenses
Low loonie not good for farmers right now
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Usually when the Canadian dollar starts to drop lower than its U.S. counterpart it’s good for producers — but this time not so much. Along with the drop, commodity prices have also dropped. “Unfortunately I’m not so sure that what we’ve seen in terms of a decline in the Canadian dollar versus […] Read more
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
Farmland for rent
Too often it seems you don’t hear land is up for rent until you learn someone is already renting it
Reading Time: 7 minutes It isn’t like commercial real estate, or even like housing markets where so much information is available. If you’re interested in a house, for example, your realtor can tell you what the last six houses sold for in the same neighourhood. If you want to rent office space in downtown Calgary or Toronto, finding out […] Read more
Focusing on efficiency in dairy production
The good old days aren’t coming back, but the Bassas believe success is still possible for farms that focus from top to bottom on efficiency
Reading Time: 5 minutes In 1991, Piet and Ina Bassa sold their dairy farm in Holland, packed up their family and headed to Canada, leaving not only Europe’s high costs but also its tough environmental regulations and manure quotas that made expansion almost impossible. Importantly, their sons, Jan and Kees, were keen to start farming, so the family bought […] Read more
Manitoba, Canadian farmland values up again in 2015
Farm Credit Canada says the annual percentage increase in farmland values is getting smaller
Reading Time: 4 minutes Manitoba farmland values led the way with the highest average percentage increase in Canada last year, says Farm Credit Canada (FCC). But the pace of increases the last few years here and across Canada is slowing in step with the plateauing of farm cash receipts, and slower drop in interest rates, J.P. Gervais, FCC’s chief […] Read more
Our farmland for sale
The West is clamping down on foreign ownership of farmland, and even in Ontario, where there are few controls, overseas purchases are much lower than the rumour mill says
Reading Time: 5 minutes Almost every rural coffee shop has its own version of the same story. Foreigners are buying up Canadian farmland and they’re making land prices soar beyond the reach of local farmers as a result. But is it true? Maybe. But not likely. In fact, according to the people with their fingers on the pulse, such […] Read more
Farming in a troubled economy
It looks like a weak dollar isn’t so good for agriculture after all
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers almost universally accept the premise that a drop in the Canadian dollar is bullish for our agriculture because our commodities are priced off the U.S. This increases our prices domestically and also makes us more competitive both in the U.S. and in regions where commodity transactions are made in American dollars. But is this […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
