A Liberal election promise to expand and rename Farm Credit Canada has been cancelled, according to the federal agriculture minister. The party’s platform in the fall of 2019 included a promise to “merge existing financial and advisory services currently scattered between several agencies into Farm Credit Canada, whose mandate will be expanded and enhanced.” The… Read More
Category: Finance
For those with two years of experience or more, Scotiabank is offering a new finance option for sheep farmers to expand the ewe flock. The Ontario Sheep Farmers (OSF) and Scotiabank have partnered on a new short-term financing option to add ewes through the Scotiabank Yield More Financing program. Ontario Sheep members may access funds to purchase… Read More
Amendments have recently been made to Saskatchewan’s Provincial Sales Tax (PST) exemptions which could positively affect farmers. The changes come after the government says they’ve discovered PST was being inconsistently applied to certain items including farming equipment. “The changes to the PST regulations will be more equitable, consistent and protect farmers against perceived ‘PST creep’… Read More
Saskatchewan producers are now able to apply for up to $500,000 in funding under the Irrigation Development Program for irrigation expansion projects, an increase from $300,000 in funding in 2021. The Irrigation Development Program supports the installation of irrigation infrastructure, such as pumps and pipelines, to create a secure water supply to the edge of… Read More
The enrolment deadline for the AgriStability program has been extended from April 30, 2022 to June 30, 2022, without penalty, the federal government says. The decision to extend was based on numerous uncertainties farmers are facing, including the recent onset of highly pathogenic avian flu across much of Canada, along with unprecedented pricing challenges and… Read More
When you are managing a farm or agriculture business of any size, some areas may feel more daunting than others, or you quickly realize where strengths are and which avenues could benefit from outside help. That’s when it’s time to hire consultants.There is no shortage of consultants specializing in a variety of topics including everything… Read More
The federal government is planning to boost funding for environmental programs through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the 2022 budget introduced on April 7. While the budget contains projections of a $52.8 billion deficit and national debt totalling $1.2 trillion at the end of 2022-23, the $452.3 billion spending plan and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s… Read More
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced a change to the Advance Payments Program (APP) that aims to help producers finance record high input costs heading into the 2022 planting season. The federal government is temporarily waiving the requirement that cash advances issued prior to seeding be disbursed in two instalments — 60 per cent up… Read More
A large part of farm succession planning is information sharing between the generations, something Canadian Western Agribition’s (CWA) Next Gen Agriculture Mentorship Program is looking to replicate. The program is now in it’s fourth year and has recently announced this year’s group of mentors and mentees for Saskatchewan. The 18-month mentorship focuses on developing numerous… Read More
For every dollar in income taken home by Canadian farm families in 2019, over 64 cents was earned “off the farm,” according to a new report from Statistics Canada. StatsCan published its farm family income data for 2019 — pre-pandemic economy, of course — on January 28. Based on tax records, the agency says the… Read More