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
Category: Survey
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
In late March, the RealAgristudies Insights Panel asked six questions regarding fertilizer supply, supply on-farm, and sentiment regarding fertilizer sanctions. Over 450 participants answered those questions during the week the survey was posted, and here to analyze the results are Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture, and Justin Funk, managing partner of Agri Studies. Haney and… Read More
Fertilizer pricing and supply have been real challenges for some growers across the country heading into the 2022 growing season. Farm and industry groups have been pushing governments to remove potential barriers, as many farmers are within a month of putting seed in the ground. Whether it has been the pandemic, shipping congestion, production failures,… Read More
What should the future of Canada’s seed industry look like? How should new varieties be funded and brought forward? Described by some as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is currently leading consultations on modernizing the rules around plant breeding and how new varieties are brought to the market. Seeds Canada and other… Read More
Since the fall of 2019, beef packer profits have received major attention by ranchers and feedyards. Much of the discussion started after the packing plant fire in Kansas, but has exploded recently due to the results of the COVID-19 pandemic. Packers have struggled to stay online due to COVID-19 cases related to the plant, and… Read More
Earlier this year, we launched RealAgristudies with the goal of better understanding Canadian farmers. Our first survey, Farm Vision 2020, is designed to learn more about farmers’ attitudes and perceptions. We’ve been very encouraged by the participation from farmers to date. While the survey is still open (we just need a couple more and then… Read More