A free weekly newsletter issued by Farm Credit Canada is not meant to compete with agricultural newspapers, the federal crown corporation said last week.
AgriSuccess Express is transmitted by e-mail in both official languages to 3,000-5,000 Canadian farmers each week, said vice-president of marketing and portfolio management Lyndon Carlson.
The corporation has about 50,000 customers.
The idea for a national newsletter grew out of FCC’s acquisition of Settler Agricultural Software, a company that offered a more prairie-based e-mail newsletter.
Carlson said FCC was holding AgriSuccess training seminars and workshops and wanted to offer farmers another service.
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The newsletter is not meant to promote the corporation’s products or services.
He said it gives farmers a brief synopsis of seven or eight topics, including farm management practices, marketing information and new programs, and encourages them to seek out more information.
“It certainly is not in competition with the more detailed and thorough analysis that a newspaper like The Western Producer could provide,” he said.
The newsletter employs several freelance contributors from across the country. Carlson said it has a budget of $1,200 per week.
“The cost is less than 10 cents per person,” he said, noting that FCC’s portfolio is about $10 billion.
