Reading Time: 5 minutes It isn’t always easy to get a clear picture of how the pattern of farmland ownership is changing across Canada, particularly in the Prairie provinces. In Alberta, land titles data is expensive to purchase and in Manitoba, the provincial government has to give permission for access, even for research purposes, and that can take several […] Read more
Who owns the land?
Farms are consolidating, and non-farmers are getting aggressive
NFU takes demand for ban on investor ownership to Parliament Hill
Organization's youth caucus concerned amid ‘transition crisis’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) gathered on Parliament Hill Wednesday to demand a ban on investor ownership of farmland. The demonstration was organized by the NFU Youth Caucus and Farm Workers’ Working Group. The goal was to demand protection of food sovereignty and help farmers, especially young ones, gain more access to farmland. […] Read more
Feds plan to ease Underused Housing Tax reporting load
New exemption also proposed for employee housing outside cities
Reading Time: 3 minutes Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest Fall Economic Statement offers to take some of the reporting burden off certain farmers and other Canadians when filing for exemptions from the national Underused Housing Tax (UHT). The federal finance department on Nov. 16 posted its legislative and regulatory proposals for changes to the UHT online and has […] Read more
Choosing Canada
For these new immigrants, there’s no going back. Their future is here
Reading Time: 4 minutes It isn’t just the government red tape and the inevitable mountain of paperwork that comes with it that has driven some European farmers to Canada. It’s also the public’s negative perception of farmers and how it is fueling a lot of the regulations, especially around manure management, fertilizer use and animal welfare. “There is no […] Read more
The immigrant farm
Is another wave of foreign farmers headed for Canada?
Reading Time: 5 minutes [UPDATED: Nov. 21, 2023] Even into the early 2000s, Canadian real estate agents were doing impressive business flying cash-rich and expansion-minded European farmers west across the Atlantic to buy turnkey farms here at prices far cheaper than they could ever find at home. That was then. Today, the flow has slowed to a trickle, not […] Read more
The story behind the story
Reading Time: 3 minutes Country Guide was surprised to learn that the Lindgrens had hired a PR agent. Sure, everyone wants to make a good impression on social media, but most of us aren’t willing to pay for it. But then I learned how and why the Lindgrens had started retailing seed and crop protection products, it all made […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Will winter really be so quiet?
Reading Time: 2 minutes In its way, this may be the biggest surprise of 2023. It’s that there are so few voices out there promising to tell us exactly what the future of agriculture is going to look like and exactly who the winners and the losers will be now that land prices and net worths are so high. […] Read more
If you really want it
Can Canada’s farmers launch better business ventures by following Nelson Gibson’s lead at APH?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Two minutes into the conversation, you begin to see the parallels between Nelson Gibson’s job and the job that more Canadian farmers see ahead for themselves. On the farm, that job is ahead partly because of how the land market is curtailing farm expansion plans, and partly too because of the new levels of equity […] Read more
Canada to boost carbon tax rebate for rural areas
Will also pause carbon tax on home heating oil for three years
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday announced a three-year carbon tax exemption for home heating oil and higher carbon tax rebates for people in rural areas, measures he said were intended to bring relief amid soaring costs of living. Trudeau’s Liberal government has implemented a price on carbon to combat […] Read more
Planning the pullback
[Better Advice] Learning from David Hansen’s graceful exit from Canterra Seeds
Reading Time: 7 minutes Note: On October 2, 2023, Canterra Seeds appointed Brent Derkatch as its new president and CEO. Derkatch has been working with Canterra since 2001, most recently as the director of the pedigreed seed business unit. When a key employee leaves your farm operation, how much notice is best? If they leave too abruptly, you might […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
