COVID-19 has been an unprecedented situation. People throughout all sectors are going through a lot with their businesses, and it has shed new light on the word “risk” and risk management. When farmers are doing their strategic risk analysis for the year, and they get to the threat portion, a global pandemic wasn’t exactly something… Read More

In a time like this, there’s so much financial turmoil out there, and many people concerned about what their farm business looks like as we try to get to the other side of COVID-19. We’ve got major demand deterioration in the protein markets, there’s milk dumping going on in parts of the U.S. and Canada… Read More

No one can predict how long the COVID-19 pandemic will last, but a huge focus on social and physical distancing has been effective, at least in part, to “flattening the curve” of infection and critical illness. Tracking on an inverse curve is the local and global economy. Right now uncertainty, social distancing, and shuttered businesses… Read More

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced additional support for farmers and farm businesses, following last week’s announcement of $82 billion in various spending measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Parliament will reconvene March 24, 2020, to pass emergency legislation for these previously announced measures, and to release $5 billion in additional lending capacity through Farm… Read More

For many of the commodity futures in meats and grains, it has been a very rough two weeks of panic selling in response to coronavirus economic impacts. The sell-off has not been isolated to agricultural commodities, as the equity market in the U.S. is now officially in a bear market and down 20% off of… Read More

Although there are still talks happening behind closed doors, progress of the business risk management program (BRM) review feels as though it’s slow-moving. At this year’s CropConnect conference held at Winnipeg, Man., the topic was acknowledged by federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, but there was no mention of action — which is what most are… Read More

Due to the trade war between the U.S. and China, the White House used the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to compensate farmers from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).  The compensation was justified based on farmers willing to be “true patriots” for the greater good of America’s decision to call out China on its trading practices…. Read More