Terry Lerat, a band councilor with Cowessess First Nation, has been in the cattle business his whole life.

FCC Indigenous finance team tackles borrowing barriers

Farm lender provides ‘à la carte’ loan options to First Nations farmers

Reading Time: 4 minutes First Nations farmers have often been frozen out of agricultural lending. An all-Indigenous team at Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is working to ensure they get proper access to capital.



(Lightspeedshutter/iStock/Getty Images)

Debt decisions need strategy

Take a strategic approach rather than reacting to immediate trends

Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier Farmmedia — With interest rates swinging around like apes in the jungle, farmers might feel a lot of pressure to react to their debt and financing situations. Debt and financing decisions today, however, will have a long-term impact, so farmers should be tying decisions to the strategic vision for their operations, Backswath Management consultant […] Read more

piggybank financial literacy

Schoepp: More farms need to plant the seeds of financial literacy

Many operations, both new and old, pay a big price for not knowing the language of finance

Reading Time: 3 minutes British Columbia is a unique place in the world. The variety of food grown is astounding as is the diversity among its processed products. The landscape is home to tiny farms and large ranches, local processors and those who export worldwide. This is a province of mountains, islands, rivers, ocean, lakes, ports and flyways, valleys […] Read more


Tax records show decline in Alberta farmers’ income

Tax records show decline in Alberta farmers’ income

The StatCan data isn’t easy to parse, but the trend in recent years has been downwards

Reading Time: 2 minutes Even before the pandemic and the drought, Alberta farmers — along with their Canadian counterparts — saw their incomes drop, according to the latest report from StatCan. “Farm families in Alberta earned the highest average total income nationally for a second consecutive year in 2019,” the federal agency said in a recent report. “However, their average […] Read more

Ag lender willing to ‘find solutions’ for farmers

Ag lender willing to ‘find solutions’ for farmers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is offering a customer support program to farmers and ranchers hit by adverse growing conditions. “We are watching the weather situation very closely and are talking to customers daily,” said Michael Hoffort, FCC president and CEO. If clients suffer cash flow problems. ”We’re ready to support them and find solutions,” he […] Read more


Changes to the cash advance program — spurred by China’s defacto ban on canola seed purchases — has resulted in more farmers using the program and borrowing larger amounts.

Cash advances take a ‘very dramatic’ jump, say administrators

Farmers can now borrow more against crops in their bins, and that’s what they’re doing

Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s been a “very dramatic” spike in applications for cash advances since Ottawa upped the amount farmers can borrow against crops in their bins. “We’ve had probably an extra 500 applications this year, and it’s not just new producers to the program — it’s also increased usage of the program by our existing customers,” said […] Read more

While recent rains have helped some and raised hopes of a decent harvest, many Alberta producers are struggling financially. Experts say every producer should understand their options, whether that’s increasing their operating loan, deferring debt payments, taking a cash advance, or having AgriInsurance and AgriStability coverage.

Struggling with cash flow? Take a second look at these farm lending programs

Giving yourself some financial breathing room can make your operation stronger — and reduce your stress

Reading Time: 5 minutes Hammered by dry weather and trade upheaval, many Alberta producers are struggling with cash flow. And more will be in the months ahead. But there is help out there. “It’s important for producers to know that there are more options out there than they may realize,” said Don Anderson, Farm Credit Canada’s senior vice-president of […] Read more


The Feeder Association Loan Guarantee Program, which dates back more than eight decades, is a major source of capital for cow-calf producers 
in the province.

Maximums for loan guarantee program doubled

Feeder association members can get up to $2 million from loan guarantee program to finance calf crop

Reading Time: < 1 minute The maximum loan limit for the provincial Feeder Association Loan Guarantee Program has been doubled to $2 million. The increase, which applies to both individual and joint membership loan limits, will allow feeder associations to distribute their fixed costs across a greater number of livestock and provide increased access to capital. The provincial government is […] Read more