Input costs to chip away at farmers’ shrinking income

CNS Canada — An anticipated downturn in farm income and higher input costs mean Canadian producers will be in a tough financial position this year, the head of the National Farmers Union (NFU) predicts. Farmers’ net cash income is expected to move lower in 2016, declining nine per cent to $13.6 billion in 2016, according […] Read more



(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Farm kids: Don’t worry about wages

A new study by Cornell University agricultural economists says family members who work on the family dairy farm make $22,000 less annually than comparable hired managers, but are handsomely compensated with “socioemotional” wealth. “While $22,000 seems like a large penalty, there are non-financial rewards they experience working for the family business,” Loren Tauer, professor at […] Read more



Keep the farm going

For a multi-generational family farm, it’s continuity rather 
than profit that’s the guiding principle for succession

Jack and Martha, as we’ll call them, farm 1,760 acres in central Manitoba. At the ages of 67 and 62, they are thinking of handing over the reins of their operation to their son, Bob, who is 30 and already active in running the farm. Bob will be the fourth generation of his family to […] Read more