Consolidation is a fact of life in the agricultural industry, and there have been waves of it over time. In 2023, one of the biggest potential mergers has been the combination of Bunge and Viterra, which will have impacts on the grain procurement, handling, and processing sectors. Of course, another major stakeholder potentially impacted are… Read More
Category: Survey
Year-over-year, farmers aren’t necessarily more concerned about inflation; however, a large majority of those who answered the latest RealAgristudies survey on the topic feel strongly that government policy has contributed to inflation. The survey, which wrapped September 8, 2023, of over 500 farmers from across Canada, took the pulse not only on how farmers feel… Read More
Farmers haven’t significantly changed loan makeup on farms, and are sticking with variable rate loans this year compared to sixteen months ago. The number of farmers with all fixed-rate loans has held steady in the same time frame. That’s according to the latest survey from the RealAgristudies Insights Panel, which ran late last month with… Read More
Nearly 600 farmers weighed in on the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index in July, marking the sixth time farmers from the Insights Panel have answered questions on the financial health of the farm, confidence in marketing, whether it’s a good time to invest in the farm, and farmers’ mental health. Modelled after the Purdue Ag Economy… Read More
In July 2023, RealAgristudies looked at farmers’ opinion on consolidation and how it is impacting their farm businesses. While 90 per cent of farmers say that they are concerned about consolidation in the agriculture industry, not all industry verticals are viewed the same. Canadian farmers have the greatest concern about consolidation of equipment dealers, with… Read More
Canadian farmers feel relatively stable and positive about their farms’ current financial outlook, even in the face of declining commodity markets, according to the March Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index. Last month, the RealAgristudies Insights Panel was surveyed a fourth time since September 2022 on their opinions and overall sentiment on a number of critical agricultural… Read More
It’s easy to assume that today’s farmer is bombarded with salespeople trying to get them to buy products for the farm. After all, buying farm products, inputs in particular, is very predictable. In the fall farmers will begin purchasing seed for next year, then book fertilizer, and chemical, etc. This differs from livestock farmers that… Read More
It was Albert Einstein that said, “When you stop learning, you start dying” In today’s world of fast-paced change and competitiveness, farmers and ranchers face immense challenges on a daily basis. All entrepreneurs face the stiff challenge of staying current, but not everyone views or tackles the skills gap the same. In February, RealAgristudies dove… Read More
RealAgristudies has been tracking farmer sentiment on key issues since the launch of the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index in September, 2022. Every two months, the sentiment survey is sent out to the RealAgristudies Insights panel members to gauge their feeling on several different aspects of their farm’s outlook, their outlook for the industry as a… Read More
RealAgristudies has been tracking farmer sentiment on key issues since the launch of the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index in September 2022. Every two months, the sentiment survey is sent out to the RealAgristudies Insights panel members to gauge their feeling on several different aspects of their farm’s outlook, their outlook for the industry as a… Read More
It’s said that when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold. But is that really true of all things? Until now, Canada hasn’t had its own farmer sentiment index, like farmers have in the U.S., and so the industry has been left to extrapolate how Canadians feel about the state of agriculture from our southern… Read More
In late June, RealAgristudies surveyed more than 600 farmers on adoption rates of business risk management programs, perceptions on usefulness, and opinions on what modifications are needed to the Ag Policy Framework (APF). This week, we’ll finally get a peek at the next generation APF. Will the changes and updates be what farmers wanted? To… Read More
Through the pandemic numerous food perspectives were subject to a shift, with more people cooking at home and grocery scarcity showing up for the first time for many. Just ahead of the pandemic, Beyond Meat, a plant-based protein company, went public to much fanfare. The Canadian Meat Council has, of course, been watching the plant-based… Read More
Just ahead of the busy planting and seeding season, another almost-as-important season began: hockey playoff season. Here at RealAgriculture, we know hockey plays a key role in the rural experience, in our communities, and our relationships, especially when it comes to friendly rivalries over our favourite teams. To honour the very important playoff season, RealAgriculture’s… Read More
The RealAgristudies Inflation Survey 2022 garnered an incredible amount of interest from the Insights Panel. In all, over 850 people participated in this proprietary survey launched April 5, 2022, weighing in on the concerns surrounding inflation, interest rates, and rising input costs of farmers. Below, Shaun Haney and Justin Funk, who lead RealAgristudies, dive in… Read More