By Emily Croft
Starting a business in any industry is a challenging endeavour. In agriculture, entry costs, land competition, and time constraints can make it difficult for newcomers to build their own farm from the ground up.
How are new producers managing the challenges of starting their farm businesses and what are they doing to stay competitive?
By Colleen Halpenny
More farm wealth than ever before is passing from one generation to the next. Over the last decade, skyrocketing land values, heightened equipment values, and quota holdings have increased in capital value, leading to more complex transition discussions.
According to Statistics Canada, the value of equity in Canada’s farm sector totalled $627.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021, up 10 per cent from a year earlier. This is the largest percentage increase in farm equity since 2013.
By Paul Hermans
Everywhere you look there is a lot of data that talks about the benefits of crop rotation. Adding winter wheat to the mix is a no-brainer.
Winter wheat helps spread workload, improves soil health, and provides cover crop benefits over the winter. Economically, it increases the yield potential of corn and soybeans in the rotation.
By Emily Croft
When Mack Emiry, a dairy farmer from Massey, found out he was selected as a successful nominee to be inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame this year, he was surprised.
“I was dumbfounded when I realized I was nominated, and then again when I was selected,” says Mack.
“I’m not different from a lot of people who have farmed, and still do farm, in this province.”
By Emily Croft
Most farms in Canada are owned, operated, and passed down through families.
As multiple generations integrate on the farm, it can be difficult to manage the pressures of maintaining a business and family dynamics.
A clear transition plan is one way that farming families can ensure that the expectations and goals for the farm are shared.
By Paul Hermans
If you have children, you know that throughout their life, they can challenge you daily. Ask yourself, have your ever given up on your children?
Consider your crops like your kids, you should never give up on them throughout the growing season. Keep constantly checking your crops and revise management strategies to reduce stress. This will lead to higher yields and profitability.
Two key factors are at play in this strategy:
By Emily Croft
In a career of more than 40 years and counting, Dale Cowan has cultivated a reputation for his mentorship skills, an affinity for the newest technologies, and extensive agronomy knowledge. His lifelong contributions to farming will see Dale inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame on June 11.
By Mel Luymes
Considering the costs of the latest farm equipment and technology, more and more producers are opting to hire agri-contractors for one or more field operations.
By Paul Hermans
Back in the good old days I dreaded grade school spring report card time. I was always worried about what my parents would think when they saw my report. In some classes I got B marks – others not so.
As planting continues and wraps up through the countryside, it is now time to explore fields to get a report card on emergence as we start setting yield expectations for the 2023 growing season.
By Colleen Halpenny
In 2022, Ontario producers cropped an impressive 3,080,400 acres of soybeans according to Statistics Canada. This represents 58 per cent of total soybean production acres across Canada, and Ontario soybeans totalled $2.94 billion in farm cash receipts in 2021.
With so many acres invested, and yields on the line, we spoke with some experts to explore how you can bolster your stand’s health in the upcoming season.