Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Some producers have lost tens of thousands of dollars to a rising tide of financial fraud, one expert warns, and he wants farmers and agribusiness to protect themselves. “It’s unbelievable the amount of cases that have come through our organization in the last year and a half,” said Jonathan Neutens, head of […] Read more
Financial expert to farmers: Stop using cheques
Rising number of financial scams should encourage diligence, two-factor authentication
Loan limits get beefed up
Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial government is giving feeder association members more options to purchase and market livestock and to generate better cash flow for their operations. It is amending the Feeder Associations Guarantee Regulation. The changes raise individual and joint membership loan limits, excluding advances, to $3 million from $2 million. Cattle prices have increased 25 per […] Read more
Now is the second-best time to create your business plan
Business plans boost profitability but during a crisis, they also help you ‘sleep at night’
Reading Time: 3 minutes COVID-19 has a lot of farmers dusting off their risk management strategies, but if a business plan isn’t part of that, you’re likely sacrificing your bottom line — and your peace of mind. “We know that farmers are very stressed, but we also know that business planning can help,” said Heather Watson, executive director of […] Read more
Top 12 tax-saving tips for your farm
Some require help from an accountant or adviser, but others are things you can do yourself
Reading Time: 4 minutes Every farmer wants to pay less in taxes, but it can be hard to know where to find those savings. “How do you feel confident you’re paying the least amount of tax possible? It’s tough,” said Carman Praski, business development representative at Farm Business Consultants. At the recent Ag in Motion virtual conference, Praski offered […] Read more
Smart ag research program receives $5.1 million in funding
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College’s Smart Farm has received $5.1 million in federal and industry funding for its applied research program. The funds will be used for a series of “industry-driven, college-led” projects to develop, evaluate and demonstrate smart ag technology. “Our goal is to provide beta testing research that will support small to medium enterprises and help […] Read more
Sawyer to lead ag-products marketing council
Reading Time: < 1 minute Pine Lake cow-calf producer Doug Sawyer has been named permanent chair of the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council, and Calgary lawyer Stan Church has been named vice-chair. As well, ag business management specialist Patricia Henderson and consultant Julie Stitt have been appointed council members. The marketing council provides oversight to the province’s seven agricultural marketing […] Read more
Not the best of times, but farm income rose in 2019
After a big drop two years ago, net income rose last year — and cannabis became a major crop
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta farm income more than doubled last year. But it’s not as good as it sounds, even if you have been indulging in some of what is suddenly the province’s third-largest cash crop. Net farm income in Alberta in 2019 was just north of $671 million — which is well above the 2018 figure of […] Read more
The grain trains just keep getting bigger
Reading Time: < 1 minute Less than a year after loading the province’s largest-ever grain train, Paterson Grain’s Foothills terminal at Bowden has upped the record by a wide margin. The terminal recently loaded 16,313 tonnes of grain on 167 new high-capacity hopper cars — 10 per cent more grain than on a 147-car train last summer. The train was […] Read more
Planning for success can also help you in a time of crisis
Large-scale Saskatchewan farm says it has found some financial positives during pandemic
Reading Time: 4 minutes Hebert Grain Ventures might just be the closest thing to pandemic-proof a farm can be. “From a pandemic standpoint, the farm really hasn’t felt it. It’s kind of business as usual,” said Evan Shout, chief financial officer of the 22,000-acre grain operation in southern Saskatchewan. “We probably came out of this a little bit better […] Read more
Growers relieved as Alberta garden centres declared an essential service
Product needs to move during the brief spring sales window, veggie gardens are suddenly popular again
Reading Time: 2 minutes Garden centres may not spring to mind when thinking of essential services, but getting that official designation was critical, says the CEO of Landscape Alberta. “It opens the value chain from the agricultural side,” said Joel Beatson, whose organization joined Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association in requesting greenhouses, nurseries and garden centres be classed as essential […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
