Reading Time: 4 minutes When you sit down across a desk from your equipment dealer, you’re out to get the best deal you can — and your dealer is out to make a profit. So how can you keep more jingle in your own jeans? “It doesn’t matter if you pay cash, you finance it, or you lease it,” […] Read more
Cash is your best bet when buying machinery
If you're going to 'run the hell out of your equipment,' lease it
China clears ChemChina’s Syngenta deal
Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina’s US$43 billion planned takeover of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta has received approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the two companies said Wednesday. “This represents a further step towards the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2017,” they said […] Read more
Don’t let that pretty quarter section turn your head
Spring is a busy time for farmland sales, but make sure you don’t wind up with buyer’s regret
Reading Time: < 1 minute Spring is a prime time for buying land, but don’t rush into a purchase, says a provincial farm financial specialist. “With farmland prices continuing to appreciate, a well-researched financial and ownership plan will guard against ill-prepared land purchases,” said Rick Dehod. “So do your homework before making a final decision.” Read more: FCC sees increase […] Read more
Alberta to restore non-refundable checkoff option
Alberta’s farmed-commodity commissions may soon be able to make their checkoffs non-refundable again if their producer members are willing. The provincial government on Tuesday tabled amendments to the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAPA) which would grant each of the province’s 13 agricultural commissions the ability to determine whether their checkoffs should be refundable or […] Read more
Get up to $25,000 for worthy projects in your community
Application deadline is April 17
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada is now accepting applications from rural community groups for its AgriSpirit Fund, which will award $1.5 million in funding this year to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. For the past 14 years, FCC has awarded registered charities and non-profit organizations in rural Canada between $5,000 and $25,000 for various community improvement initiatives. Past projects […] Read more
Annual elm pruning ban now in place
Reading Time: < 1 minute The ban on pruning elms is now in place until Sept. 30. All pruned wood and firewood from elms should now have been disposed of, either by burning, burying or chipping. Stored elm wood can harbour the elm bark beetles that can carry DED. “If elm trees are pruned during the pruning ban period, these […] Read more
Bashaw agri-retailer to share the wealth
Reading Time: < 1 minute Bashaw Crop Services is one of four Canadian agri-retailers to be given $15,000 to donate to worthy causes. It was chosen in a contest put on by ADAMA Canada, which encouraged people to vote for agri-retailers that have made an outstanding contribution to their community. Fifty-two businesses were nominated in the #ThankARetailer contest and more […] Read more
Minnesota finds source of Palmer amaranth on CRP land
Reuters — An invasive weed likely entered Minnesota through seed planted on land in a U.S. conservation program, state agriculture officials said on Thursday, bringing to a close an official probe of a growing threat to agricultural production. Infestations of the weed, Palmer amaranth, have affected other states in the U.S. Midwest through seed planted […] Read more
Don’t be fooled by false promises
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Farmers’ Advocate Office is hearing concerns about negotiation practices on utility projects, transmission lines, and pipelines. “One of the frustrations we’ve been hearing from landowners is that some have been given the impression that the company will come back and ‘top off’ compensation if another landowner along the same route negotiates at a higher […] Read more
Palmer amaranth threatening U.S. corn fields
Winterset, Iowa | Reuters — A U.S. government program designed to convert farmland to wildlife habitat has triggered the spread of a fast-growing weed that threatens to strangle crops in America’s rural heartland. The weed is hard to kill and, if left unchecked, destroys as much as 91 per cent of corn on infested land, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
