Reading Time: 2 minutes To help producers be aware of the ratios for their farm businesses, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has a decision-making tool called the ABA Simple Farm Ratio Analyzer. Start with your year-end net worth statement (the balance sheet for 2016), which is also your opening net worth statement for 2017, said farm finance specialist Rick Dehod. […] Read more
Online tool gives snapshot of farm’s fiscal health
Analyzer uses eight numbers from the year-end balance sheet to quickly produce 11 key financial ratios linked to industry benchmarks
Adviser urges farmers to give up their sinful ways
Trying to hit the market peak, getting angry about mistakes, and putting off marketing chores are three of the seven ‘sins’ of selling your crop
Reading Time: 3 minutes While many grain growers came to FarmTech looking for insight on where markets may be headed in the coming year, Brian Voth challenged those attending his sessions with a different perspective on the game. Lured in by his title of ‘The Seven Deadly(ish) Sins of Grain Marketing,’ attendees soon found the Manitoba-based market adviser wasn’t […] Read more
Is a grain transportation remedy finally on its way?
A new rail bill is due this spring. Will Ottawa find a fix for long-standing issues or will it be more of the same old?
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new rail transport bill is on the horizon, but it’s still too soon to say whether that will bring about meaningful change for Canadian farmers. “We’ll see what comes out in the new rail bill — how far they’re willing to go on this,” said Steve Pratte, manager of policy development for the Canadian […] Read more
Need for speed is the key to Vegreville’s two new elevators
Viterra’s and GrainsConnect Canada’s new facilities will both be able to load huge unit trains in little more than half a day
Reading Time: 2 minutes Vegreville will soon be home to two new high-throughput elevators, and the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board is a big reason why, says the head of GrainsConnect Canada. The company’s two owners — Japan’s Zen-Noh Grain Corp. and Australia’s GrainCorp — both want access to Prairie grain and that prompted the decision to spend […] Read more
Inputs and iron: Relentless price hikes squeeze producers
When crop prices soared, so did costs — and they stayed high even as farm revenues fell back to earth
Reading Time: 6 minutes Record-high grain and oilseed prices are a speck in the rear-view mirror, but they’ve left a legacy of higher costs. “When we see higher grain prices, we can expect to pay higher inputs,” said Scott Keller, a mixed grain farmer near New Norway. “All the companies selling crop inputs look at farmers’ margins and then […] Read more
Nominate a local charity for a $2,500 grant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications are now open for the Farmers Grow Communities program, which allows farmers to nominate their favourite local charity for a $2,500 grant. Over the last five years, the Monsanto Fund has given out nearly $1 million to more than 300 rural charities. Almost any non-profit organization based in rural Canada is eligible. Past winners […] Read more
Parrish and Heimbecker buys four CPS outlets in Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute Parrish and Heimbecker has struck a deal with Crop Production Services to buy its outlets in Sedgewick, Wainwright, St. Paul, and Marwayne. “P&H has been aggressively expanding its footprint on the crop input business across Canada,” said Justin Watson, the company’s national director of crop nutrients. “Expansion into this geography and working with the experienced […] Read more
Revenues fall but so do expenses at Alberta Barley Commission
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Barley Commission saw revenues fall by nearly $800,000 but still posted a surplus last year. Revenue fell to $4.1 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year from $4.9 million a year earlier, largely due to a drop in checkoffs and less revenue from the AgriInnovation program. But costs also were lower, including a drop of $360,000 […] Read more
More than Good enough
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm finance expert Merle Good has been recognized for his work in advancing agricultural business management practices by being named this year’s winner of the Wilson Loree Award. The former provincial tax specialist has “a passion for farm management,” said Rick Taillieu, who nominated Good on behalf of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. Good, who […] Read more
Run the numbers, compare performance, and make more money
AgriProfit$ allows you to dig deep into where you make money on your farm and where your performance is lagging
Reading Time: 2 minutes Time is running out if you want to enrol in AgriProfit$. Producers have until mid-January to sign up for the business analysis program, said Pauline Van Biert, a research analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. After providing their farm information, participants receive a detailed analysis that drills right down to their own cost of production […] Read more
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