One of your first steps is to find out what markets are offering.

Review your last year, plan for next year

This is a good time to look at last year’s marketing plan, and do the math for next year

In my last column, I asked if you know your costs of production for every crop you grew last year. Then I asked if you ran a breakeven analysis for each crop, so you would know what prices you needed to sell at a profit. If you had done these things and stuck to a […] Read more


One advantage to the Advance Payments Program is that producers only repay the cash advance as they sell the product they took the advance against.

Cash advances eases interest rate pain

The federal government's Advance Payments Program offers interest free farm loans

Over 10,000 producers use the Canadian Canola Growers Association’s (CCGA) cash advance program every year. The program advances around $1.5 billion annually, mainly to grain and oilseeds operations. CCGA is one of largest administrators of the Advance Payments Program (APP) to Western Canadian producers. The APP is a federal government program made available through Agriculture […] Read more

Roquette broke ground on its pea-processing plant in Portage la Prairie, Man., in September 2017. Construction was suspended in the spring of 2018, then began again this past October.

Roquette tweaks pea plant plans

The pea-processing plant is still under construction, with expanded plans

It’s been two years since French company Roquette announced its plan to build the world’s largest pea-processing plant in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. And while the company did break ground in September of 2017, construction was suspended in the spring of 2018, but began again this past October. Roquette expects the new plant to process […] Read more


Down markets aren’t bad markets

Down markets aren’t bad markets

A review of 2018’s market 
performance shows a slight gain 
from the sample portfolio

Down markets are great if you’re in the stock buying mood. Markets ended 2018 with a thud. In the fourth quarter there were declines of about 16 per cent in Canada and 20 per cent in the U.S., closing the year slightly off these lows. Financial headlines were dire, with many suggesting the worst December […] Read more

Farm Financial Planner: Selling to get out from under debt

With no farming children and little income flowing in from the farm, it’s time to sell


A couple we’ll call Harry, 74, and Anne, 72, have been farming in central Manitoba for four decades and would like to retire. They have 1,600 acres — 600 for grain and the remainder for pasture and hay. Their children, two sons and two daughters, have careers away from the family farm. The problem: pay […] Read more


corn harvest

2018 was a year with potential

Most commodity prices followed the same trend in 2018, hitting their highs in May

Winter is the time to review what happened last year, and take those learnings to heart as we prepare and plan for the coming year. First, let’s look at the Canadian dollar in 2018. The dollar has a major impact on both the costs of farming and the returns on commodity sales. Currency risk needs […] Read more

Close up of Canadian banknotes (CAD) background, this is polymer money with holograms that will last longer and be harder to counterfeit.

2019 SMART Investing Goals

Setting personal financial goals for the upcoming year is a good way to make sure you grow your portfolio

2018 has been a challenging year for stock and bond investors around the world. Virtually every asset class, in every country is down year-to-date. Following is a sampling of stock market declines (not including dividends) around the world as at mid-December, 2018: China is down 22 per cent, Germany 16 per cent, Canada 10 per […] Read more


A look at what’s ahead for the Canadian dollar

A look at what’s ahead for the Canadian dollar

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Expect a slower economy, more debt and likely more taxes

The Canadian dollar eroded by 7.8 per cent during 2018 with most of this deterioration coming in the fourth quarter. For cattle producers, this isn’t necessarily negative. Recent data shows that year-to-date feeder cattle exports for the week ending Dec. 8, 2018 were 191,863 head, up a whopping 66 per cent over the same period […] Read more

Wheat seeds spilling from hand, close-up

Paying more, getting more

As we sign up to pay more for seed, we must make sure we get a return on our investment

The discussion around seed royalty is now official. The question is not, “Will we have a seed royalty?” The question is, “Which system is going to be implemented?” The options have been defined and the choice is between two payment plans, which will likely boil down to one: EPR, or end point royalty, a charge […] Read more