Barbed wire fence through the tall golden grass fields

Farm Financial Planner: Sell the farm or lease the land?

Sell the place and keep the cash, or hold on to your family legacy?

In south-central Manitoba, a couple we’ll call Perry, 50, and Lucy, 45, are feeling pressure to operate the family grain farm. Perry’s parents recently passed away and the 480-acre farm is Perry and Lucy’s. If they go back to the farm from their off-farm careers, they will give up a combined annual off-farm income totaling […] Read more

Should you sell your grain now, or wait? Market dynamics can change quickly.

Grain markets in the new year

A post-harvest review of market movements, and pre-pricing your 2019 crop

Some key changes pre-Christmas changed the tone of the grain markets. Dry weather in India started to impact pulse markets, pushing Canadian pulse values higher on concerns that India’s crop will not be sufficient to meet their needs. Buyers are trying to secure product before the situation gets worse and prices run even higher. Australia’s […] Read more


SeedNet varieties sold from the farm

In 2010, a group of 14 progressive, southern Alberta seed growers got together, looking for ways to promote seed production. Today, those original seed growers (well, 13 of them) are shareholders in SeedNet, a company that licenses new varieties for sale to commercial farmers. “Now,” says Elizabeth Tokariuk, SeedNet’s general manager, “we have a network […] Read more

Both Canada and U.S. calf crop numbers are estimated higher from last year.

Calf production numbers increase forecast

Market Update: Producers need to be ready with risk management plans

Alberta fed cattle prices have come under pressure over the past month. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $147 to $149 during the second week of November, down $4 to $6 from a month earlier. Weakness in the fed cattle market has spilled over into the feeder complex. Western Canadian yearling […] Read more


Charles Baron is a co-founder of Farmers Business Network (FBN).

From Silicon Valley to Yorkton, Sask.

Farmers Business Network is a new grower network that connects farmers digitally

A company that began as a Silicon Valley start-up is hoping to change the way farmers do business by leveraging technology and farmer networks. When people think about data, they often think about how to get a better prescription or make something narrowly useful on the farm, says Charles Baron, co-found of Farmers Business Network […] Read more

Fear is easier to market than facts

Fear is easier to market than facts

Despite the potential stability of a well-structured portfolio, stock-phobia abounds

A phobia is defined as an extreme or irrational fear. I Googled phobias. There is a fear of money officially called chrematophobia, but no official fear of stocks so I will just refer to it as stock-phobia. Why are so many individuals afraid to invest in stocks when they represent one of the best wealth […] Read more


Toban Dyck: Feeding the world

Ag is invited to the Global Forum in Toronto, but it takes a seat in the back

What do you think the median salary is in this room, right now?” asked the journalist sitting next to me. I laughed and said a number, but it was probably low by a couple hundred thousand. I was invited to attend and cover the Fortune Magazine’s Fortune Global Forum in Toronto in mid-October. “This annual […] Read more

aerial view of farmland

Farmland values and rising interest rates

As interest rates rise, farmers are wondering, ‘it this still a good time to buy land?’


On most farms land is the largest farm asset, which means it can also account for the largest portion of farm debt — especially for farmers just starting out, taking over from the previous generation or expanding the business. What can farmers do, in the face of more potential interest rate hikes, to make sure […] Read more


As interest rates edge upwards, it’s probably a good idea to know how much flexibility you have to purchase major assets, should the opportunity arise.

Is it too expensive to borrow money?

When the neighbour’s land is for sale, are interest rates too high to say 'yes?'

The best time to figure out whether or not you can afford to borrow more money probably isn’t when you get a tip off that the neighbour wants to sell some land at a really tempting price. But inevitably, it’s when faced with those kinds of situations that producers take stock of where they are […] Read more

For the most part, recent strong net income will take the sting out of interest rate hikes.

Rising interest rates, rising risk?

Farm Management: What do today’s rising interest rates mean for your farm’s balance sheet

There are a number of ways that rising interest rates affect farm balance sheets. They can negatively affect cash flow, can create a need to adjust short-term and long-term liabilities and affect the value of farmland that in turn can impact the farm’s asset values. “Higher interest rates will impact operations differently based on how […] Read more