Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump’s tariff battle with key buyers of U.S. apples, soybeans and corn threatens the support of some of his biggest backers — U.S. farmers now seeing their livelihoods in jeopardy. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2016 election, welcoming how he championed rural economies and vowed to repeal estate […] Read more
Trump’s tariff war threatens to erode support of farmers
Find the key numbers that tell the tale
Using financial indicators and benchmarks gives you the straight goods on how your operation is doing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Some easy-to-calculate ratios can give you a quick idea of the health of your farm or ranch. “The Simple Farm Ratio Analyzer is a shortcut Excel program that takes just eight key financial entries and calculates financial ratios for the farm/ranch and colour codes them in comparison to industry benchmarks,” said Rick Dehod, a provincial […] Read more
Farm sales to co-ops to count for small business deduction
Changes to federal tax law that were meant to block “multiplication” of the small business deduction for corporations won’t apply to farmers’ sales to co-operatives. The federal government on Friday released draft amendments to the Income Tax Act, which would allow qualifying farmers and fishers selling to agricultural and fisheries co-operatives to be eligible for […] Read more
Opinion: ‘Rich’ farmers aren’t a bad thing
People may not appreciate how tough it is to build a farm business, but we should still celebrate those successes
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was just one line in a 25-page report, but it stood out: “It is a popular misconception that farmers are making a lot of money in agricultural enterprises.” As a journalist, I’ve never had to worry that people will think I’m wealthy. But, according to the report, the notion of “rich farmers” is widely held. And […] 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
Six numbers in agriculture to make you stop and think
It isn’t as quiet as you might think on the home front. Yes, today’s farms seem stable, but the next evolutionary wave is gaining energy
In 2009, total Canadian net farm income was $2.8 billion. Four years later, it was $10 billion more, with Statistics Canada’s saying a $5.6-billion rise in the total value of farm-owned inventories from the year before accounted for almost all of the increase in total net income in 2013 That inventory increase came from a[...]
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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[...]
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Farm incomes set to fall from record high
Reuters — Canadian farm incomes look set to fall in 2016 after a year of record profits, but will still reach above-average levels, according to a report from the federal government. Rising receipts for crops and livestock have boosted incomes in recent years, due to greater demand in developing countries and a weak Canadian dollar,[...]
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How’s business? There’s an app for that
Free online tool can tell you exactly how your farm is doing financially and create a financial plan for the coming year
Reading Time: < 1 minute An online tool for analyzing the performance of your farm business has been upgraded, along with some additional user assistance for the software. The Agricultural Business Analyzer is a set of Excel spreadsheets designed for a farm business. It helps producers prepare the three key financial documents: a balance sheet (that measures net worth), income/expense[...]
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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[...]
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Cyber-Savvy Farmer
