(Dave Bedard photo)

Farmland fundamentals potentially bearish: FCC

Having tracked more double-digit percentage increases in Canadian farmland prices through 2015, Canada’s federal farm lender sees factors lining up for those values to retreat. Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values Report, released Monday, logged a 10.1 per cent increase in average farmland values in Canada in 2015, down from a 14.3 per cent rise in […] Read more

FCC expands loan program for young farmers

FCC expands loan program for young farmers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada is expanding its loan program for young farmers by $500 million. FCC launched the program four years ago and had nearly 6,000 loans totalling more than $1.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015. The Young Farmer Loan program provides qualified producers, under age 40, with loans of up to $500,000 to purchase […] Read more


Grants available for francophone groups

Reading Time: < 1 minute Community and volunteer groups located in French and English linguistic minority communities are encouraged to consider applying for Farm Credit Canada’s Expression Fund. The fund gives grants of between $2,000 and $10,000  for initiatives such as community centres, schools, daycare centres and artistic projects, such as theatrical productions, art galleries, and concerts. Last year, the Association canadienne-française de […] Read more

Alberta 4-H clubs get FCC funding

Reading Time: < 1 minute Fifty-two 4-H clubs in Alberta are beneficiaries of Farm Credit Canada’s 4-H Club Fund. The farm lender donated $122,000 to 251 4-H clubs across Canada to support various local events and activities, with $26,000 going to Alberta clubs. The fund is part of FCC’s $1-million contribution committed over four years to 4-H Canada. This contribution, […] Read more


Funding available for farm safety training

Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications are now being accepted for this year’s edition of the FCC Ag Safety Fund. The fund, supported by Farm Credit Canada, helps charitable and non-profit groups deliver agricultural safety training across Canada with a focus on operating machinery in a safe manner. “Tractor and machinery safety training helps develop skills for safe operation,” said […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC to offer breaks on loans in Sask., Alta.

Customers of Farm Credit Canada in parched areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan may be able to get breaks on their outstanding loan payments. FCC on Monday announced it would work with affected customers on “solutions for their operation(s)” such as deferral of principal payments and/or otherwise amending their loan payment schedules. The offer applies to […] Read more


farm fields

The sizzling market for farmland may be ready to take a breather

Alberta land prices are still heading up, but double-digit 
annual rises appear to be over for now

Reading Time: 3 minutes The red-hot market for farmland is showing signs of cooling off. “The more recent sales are still showing some increase, but the increases aren’t what they have been previously,” said Dave Weber, an appraiser with Serecon, an agricultural consulting company. Alberta farmland values were increasing about one per cent a month during 2011 and 2012, […] Read more

Nearly 60 Alberta 4-H clubs receive FCC funding

Clubs can get up to $500 for activities and events, and the next application deadline is in the fall


Reading Time: < 1 minute Fifty-seven 4-H clubs in Alberta have been given a combined total of $27,750 by Farm Credit Canada to support various local events and activities. In all, FCC gave out $130,000 to 263 4-H clubs across Canada, part of its $1-million, four-year commitment to 4-H Canada. In addition to supporting local 4-H activities, it supports national […] Read more


Any delays to seeding due to spring rain aren’t expected to be as prolonged as last year’s, Drew Lerner told farmers in Regina. (Leeann Minogue photo)

Minogue: Optimism reigns at FCC outlook meeting

Regina — Despite commodity prices down off recent highs, resurgent transportation problems and crop disease issues across the Prairies, farmers heard all good news at Farm Credit Canada’s Ag Outlook 2015 conference here Tuesday. “The sky’s not falling,” said J.P. Gervais, chief ag economist for Regina-based FCC. Actually, he said, things are pretty good. If […] Read more

Seventeen communities tap into AgriSpirit Fund

Reading Time: < 1 minute Seventeen Alberta community groups received $185,000 from Farm Credit Canada’s AgriSpirit Fund in 2014. The fund awards rural community groups between $5,000 and $25,000 for community improvement projects, such as recreation and community centres, libraries, and emergency services training facilities. All projects are based in communities with populations less than 150,000 and the 2014 recipients […] Read more