Are you relying solely on Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security for your retirement needs? What are the chances that CPP and OAS will be around when today’s young people retire? Life insurance might provide added security. A rapidly aging population and longer life spans are placing pressure on government managed and funded retirement […] Read more
Tag Archives Ag Finance
Insurance option for retirement funds
Canadian land values see hefty price gains
Prices jump but are not yet in danger of bursting
Saskatchewan is leading the nation in rising farmland values, but total values in the province still trail behind other parts of the country. Farm Credit Canada’s latest report on farmland values, which was released last week, says the average value of farmland in Saskatchewan increased by 10.1 percent during the second half of 2011, ahead […] Read moreFarm price rise cause for alarm south of border
Last week, an auction company in the United States announced that a 97-acre tract of Michigan farmland sold for $8,865 per acre. The bidding was intense. Even when it reached $7,000 per acre, there were several bidders still competing, said the company. Keep in mind that this was actual farmland, not an area intended to […] Read more
Canola’s success big headache for other crops
The success of canola is having ripple effects throughout the western Canadian grain industry. As producers, we often complain about the exorbitant price of canola seed. Farm-saved seed still dominates in most other crops, but with canola you need to buy seed each year. At $10 to $12 a pound, or $50 to $60 an […] Read more
Farm lifestyle good for healthier life: study
21st century medicine | Being raised on a farm affects regulation of immune system and reduces immunological responses
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. — Many rural people believe there is a connection between farm living and health, but now there is hard science to back it up. For the first time, a new study has shown that being raised on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and reduces the immunological responses […] Read moreAg sector wants answers; who, where, what is cut
The Conservative majority government seemed to be proud of its deficit-cutting budget when it came down on March 29. Since then, it has become apparent that it’s not proud enough to provide the details of those cuts to the Canadians they will most affect. This is certainly true at Agriculture Canada, where $310 million will […] Read more
Call for weakening of supply management disregards farm families involved
Just to be clear on this, let’s examine the implications of the latest business salvo against Canada’s supply management system. A system that for more than three decades has seen dairy and poultry farmers make their living from market returns without subsidies should suddenly be jettisoned for a system that would see a multibillion-dollar bill […] Read more
Logging could cause soil erosion, runoff for farmers
Castle-Crown Wilderness Coalition | Alberta government’s logging decision questioned
The latest volley in an ongoing protest of logging in southwestern Alberta’s Castle River headwaters region was fired April 18 when a coalition announced plans to pursue a judicial review. The provincial government’s decision to allow clear-cut logging over a three-year period in parts of the Castle crown forest near Beaver Mines, Alta., has been […] Read moreCopper deficiency causes ergot, declares ‘Dr. Copper’
Alberta plant disease and micronutrient specialist Ieuan Evans has pounded his pulpit for the last 15 years proclaiming the gospel of copper. To Evans, the evidence and science is clear. Ergot, the grade-robbing fungus in cereal grains, is caused by a deficiency in copper. About 30 percent of the fields in Alberta and 10 to […] Read more
Conservative mandate seeks returning roles to the private sector
Federal budget 2012 and its wide-ranging implications for agricultural bureaucrats and programming is a powerful statement from the majority Conservatives about unnecessary government and the power of the private sector. In a nutshell: Ottawa and government over the years have taken on roles that should be turned over to private interests. This has been the […] Read more
