Eligible farmers under age 40 will be able to get larger loans for less of a down payment through an expansion of Farm Credit Canada’s Young Farmer Loan plan. The federal farm lending agency on Wednesday announced the program’s credit limit per applicant will be doubled to $1 million, with a minimum down payment of […] Read more
FCC doubles down on Young Farmer Loans
Food bank drive collects millions of meals
Reading Time: < 1 minute The recently concluded FCC Drive Away Hunger collected enough food for 6.7 million meals, far surpassing this year’s goal. The donated food was given to food banks, which assist 850,000 Canadians every month, with children accounting for 36 per cent of that number. There are more than 500 food banks in the country, with about […] Read more
FCC offers to bend terms for soaked Prairie growers
Canada’s federal farm lender says it will be flexible with qualifying Prairie crop growers facing financial trouble from a rain-soaked harvest season. Areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have experienced “significant levels of rain in the last half of the growing season and snow since the beginning of October,” Farm Credit Canada said in a […] Read more
Food bank donation drive underway
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada and its partners across the country launched the 13th annual FCC Drive Away Hunger campaign with a goal of providing four million meals for Canada’s food banks. FCC Drive Away Hunger tractor tours will take place next month in B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. FCC is also collecting food […] Read more
Farm debt at record highs — but top lender not worried
While FCC says most farmers can handle their debt load, financial expert Merle Good says some are ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farm debt has hit a record high, bringing back some unpleasant memories of the 1980s debt crisis. But we’re not there yet, said farm business expert Merle Good. “In 1980, we had huge inflation and huge interest rates,” said Good, a longtime tax specialist with the provincial government who now runs a private consulting business. […] Read more
Alberta community groups receive funding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fifteen groups in Alberta are among the 78 rural Canadian organizations receiving $1 million in grants from Farm Credit Canada’s FCC AgriSpirit Fund this year. The fund awards between $5,000 and $25,000 for community improvement projects, such as hospitals and medical centres, childcare facilities, fire and rescue equipment, playgrounds, food banks, libraries, recreation centres, and community […] Read more
Farmers’ debt seen hitting fresh record high
Reuters — Canadian farmers’ debt will likely reach another record high this year, while land appreciation slows and incomes flatten, but the industry is still in strong financial shape, the country’s biggest agriculture lender, Farm Credit Canada, forecast on Tuesday. FCC, the federal Crown ag lending agency, sounded a note of caution for farmers, who […] Read more
Back to Ag Program helps injured farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Three injured farmers from Saskatchewan and one from Ontario have received funding to help them get back to what they love — farming. The Back to Ag Program gives injured producers up to $10,000 to help with the purchase of adaptive technology such as a cattle-handling system, grain-handling system, or wheelchair lift. The program is […] Read more
How to get a handle on farmland prices
Farm Credit Canada tracks percentage changes across the country, while Alberta Agriculture looks at dollar values in municipalities
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm Credit Canada’s recently released Farm Land Value Report and a database created by Alberta Agriculture can go a long way to helping producers establish a land value, says a provincial farm business specialist. “According to the new FCC report, Alberta’s change in farmland values was 11.6 per cent which was 1.5 per cent higher […] Read more
Alberta groups receive funding for farm safety training
Reading Time: 2 minutes Six Alberta organizations have received grants from Farm Credit Canada and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association for farm safety training programs. The six Alberta projects were among the 13 organizations which received funding this year from the FCC Ag Safety Fund. Projects with a local or provincial scope can receive up to $5,000. The six […] Read more
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