(Shotbydave/iStock/Getty Images)

Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide

FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable

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



P.E.I. Ag Minister Bloyce Thompson speaks at a press conference in 2021. (Government of P.E.I. video screengrab via Facebook Live)

Thompson returns as P.E.I. ag minister

Ag and land ministry split; Compton not returning to cabinet

Prince Edward Island’s former agriculture minister is again its current ag minister, in a post-election cabinet shuffle by returning Premier Dennis King. Bloyce Thompson, MLA for the district of Stanhope-Marshfield since 2019 and ag minister from 2019 until last summer, was again appointed April 14 as King’s minister of agriculture, justice and public safety and […] Read more

File photo of a federal office building in downtown Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC raises canola stocks projections

StatCan's early acreage estimates due out this week

MarketsFarm — Canola ending stocks for both the current marketing year and 2023-24 were raised slightly by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in its latest supply/demand projections, released Friday. The government agency lowered its canola export forecast for 2022-23 by 200,000 tonnes from March, now pegging movement at 8.4 million tonnes. With domestic usage left […] Read more


File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more

Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in degrees Celsius over the tropical Pacific Ocean for the week centred on April 12, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns

New record highs 'more likely than not'

Brussels | Reuters — The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. Climate models suggest that after three years of the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which generally lowers global […] Read more


Anxiety often does accompany or can be a symptom of physical pain.

Control anxiety with your body

Fit to Farm: How full body, dynamic movements and breathing exercises can help

It is a common belief that anxiety is a mental health condition. While anxiety certainly does have plenty of mental health implications, current research shows how the symptoms of anxiety can be managed through body focused tools. If not managed effectively, anxiety symptoms such as a racing heart, nausea, shortness of breath, nervousness, difficulty sleeping […] Read more

File photo of a southern Alberta field as spring approaches. (BrendanHunter/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie soil moisture picture growing clearer

Alberta driest; Saskatchewan variable; Manitoba mostly OK

It’s a variable soil moisture picture on the Prairies as seeding season draws nearer. The east has enough moisture — and in some cases too much. And it gets progressively drier toward the west, with portions of Alberta nearing critical condition, according to one weather watcher. Bruce Burnett, weather and markets director for the MarketsFarm […] Read more


To take this annual return calculation approach, we must drop one of the long-held market misperceptions — that we must sell to profit.

Do you have to sell in order to profit?

Investing for Fun and Profit: Measuring and benchmarking are key to understanding performance

According to a Bloomberg article, average retail investors lost 30 per cent in 2022, significantly underperforming the 17 per cent loss of the S&P 500. While this is U.S. data, it seems unlikely that Canadian investors fared much better given the excitement around technology and disdain for energy. This was by no means an anomalous […] Read more

The farmer’s fun factor is a choice. Talk about your play options. Then get out and do them!

Froese: Not having enough fun in your life?

Here are some tips to help farm men dial up the fun factor

Some farm men are experiencing a serious lack of fun, and this can start to influence the business, family harmony and all aspects of life. Finding your own fun and setting time aside for it is a choice. You can do it. I distinctly remember where we were on a gravel road when my farming […] Read more