Evaluating your investment performance

Are you getting your money’s worth when it comes to mutual fund fee structures?

There has been a lot of negativity directed towards the mutual fund and financial advisory industries around performance and fees, partly because of the emergence of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) with lower fees. Advisors, however, rely on mutual fund fees. My bias is towards taking control with direct stock ownership. This virtually eliminates fees and, […] Read more

The folly of market predictions

The folly of market predictions

For the best long-term predictions, predict that most predictions will be wrong

In a previous column, I mentioned less than half of predictions are accurate. This phenomenon has been well documented, yet market predictions continue to abound. I began making market predictions in my January 2016 newsletter, mostly to poke fun at the whole prediction process, but also to test myself against the experts. How have I […] Read more


Farm Financial Planner: Transferring farmland, minimizing taxes

Farm Financial Planner: Transferring farmland, minimizing taxes

With good advice, land can be transferred to the next generation with minimal taxes


In Alberta, a couple we’ll call Henry, 63, and Maryann, 57, are third-generation farmers. They have 1,900 acres and a herd of 40 beef cows, far less than the 300 cows they had before the BSE crisis two decades ago. With too much land for their smaller herd, they rented land to neighbours and Henry […] Read more

Aerial view of farm

Thoughts on investing in real estate

Most farmers have invested in a home and in farmland. These investments are not risk free

My January 8, 2019, column titled, “Re-think what you thought, Part 2” contained a statement that a common misperception is that a house is one’s most important investment. For farmers, a house often comes with the farm, which is clearly an investment. Does this apply to those who don’t farm? I wish to clarify that […] Read more


Knowing your crop insurance coverage for the coming year is key in setting up your marketing plan.

Making your farm plans for the year

Price expectations and your risk management strategy impact your marketing plan

How is your plan for the coming year? What will you seed? How do your break-even numbers crunch out? What are new-crop pricing prospects? Should you be doing some pre-pricing to secure profits? What’s your crop risk management strategy? Starting with your initial seeding plan, pencil out your costs of production and do a break-even […] Read more



Your farm financial scorecard

Your farm financial scorecard

Farm financial statements can offer you a lot more than just a way to keep score

If you had time to go golfing or perhaps mini-golfing last summer, you likely filled out a scorecard to track your success (or lack thereof). Keeping score allows you to track your progress and rank yourself against your competition. The golf clubs, green fees, and your time represent a significant investment and the scorecard measures […] Read more

Canadian prices divorce from U.S. fundamentals

Canadian prices divorce from U.S. fundamentals

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Alberta feeding margins are in the red by $200 per head for feedlots selling in the spot market

There was unusual price behaviour in western fed and feeder markets during the first weeks of February. Earlier in January, Alberta fed cattle prices reached a high of $166 on live basis for March delivery. By mid-February, Alberta packers were only bidding $150 on a live basis for March 1-15 delivery. At the same time, […] Read more


Investment success factors

Investment success factors

Some personal and investment-focused factors that drive investing success

In September of last year I was interviewed by the Globe and Mail, Canada’s premier business newspaper. A question that really made me think was, “What accounts for your outperformance since the 1990s?” I would like to delve into this question, dividing the answer into personal and investment factors. Personal factors for success The personal […] Read more

A CRMS helps you maximize production capabilities, and make better agronomic and weather-related decisions

Building a crop risk management strategy

A crop risk management strategy is your plan to protect your farm from unexpected loss

What is a crop risk management strategy? It’s a fancy name for what do you do on your farm to protect yourself from production and/or revenue loss. What do you use as part of a CRMS? Crop insurance, AgriStability, hail insurance, Global Ag Risk Solutions (revenue protection insurance), Just Solutions (business interruption insurance), or maybe […] Read more