Some parts of the country have seen more success protecting farmland than other regions, but when you add it up, Canada continues to lose an astonishing amount of farmland to urban expansion. The oft-cited statistic from the most recent Census of Agriculture is that Ontario alone loses an average of 319 acres of farmland every… Read More
Category: Farm Management
Lower crop prices and sinking margins in 2024 pushed Southwestern Ontario farmland growth into negative territory for the first time in 14 years, according to an annual survey of farmland in the region. Ryan Parker, partner and agricultural appraiser at London-based Valco Consultants, says a 1.43 per cent drop in farmland prices across the region… Read More
The federal government has partially changed its mind and is deferring the increase to the capital gains tax inclusion rate that took effect last June. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Friday that the implementation date of the inclusion rate increase from one-half to two-thirds will be delayed from June 25, 2024 to January 1,… Read More
There’s been no avoiding the talk of tariffs in the weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Trump and his subsequent pledge to implement 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico on February 1st. New data from RealAgristudies confirms and quantifies the level of concern in Canada’s agriculture sector. The results are based… Read More
National organizations representing Canadian farmers and ranchers are calling on the federal government to reverse its decision to administer changes to the capital gains tax that were announced in the federal budget last year. The Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Cattle Association, and Grain Growers of Canada issued a statement last week to say the… Read More
When it comes to land use, some ways that land provides value are easy to measure and monetize, such as growing crops, raising livestock, or developing real estate. But other types of value, especially those that benefit broader society, like providing biodiversity, wildlife habitat preservation, carbon sequestration, and flood or fire risk mitigation, are much… Read More
There are plenty of jobs to do on the farm and there’s never enough time or resources to get it all done. There’s plenty of work to tackle in the office, from bookkeeping to crop planning, along with making input decisions for every field across the farm. Once spring fieldwork begins, a season-long to-do list—from… Read More
People have been using handshakes to solidify deals since at least as far back as ancient Roman times. A handshake in those days would show that each person was unarmed, thereby establishing a relationship of honesty and trust. Fast forward to today with the progression of law and contracts, a need for more formalized agreements… Read More
What does it mean to struggle well? In 2006, then Major Mark Gasparotto, now retired as a Colonel, led the combat engineers during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, Canada’s largest combat mission since the Korean War. As a keynote speaker, Gasparotto now shares how the lessons learned on that mission, of leadership following friendly fire, of… Read More
Southwestern Ontario is home to some of Canada’s most productive farmland, and a “perfect storm” of low interest rates, stretches of high commodity prices and relatively good weather have driven farmland prices to dizzying heights in the region. Ryan Parker from London, Ont.- based Valco Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants, which produces an annual survey… Read More