Hundreds of Canadian farmers have received delayed payments for their crops or not been paid at all as a growing number of grain-buying firms declare bankruptcy amid drought and low commodity prices.
Tag Archives bankruptcy
Holes found in safety net
Failure of unlicensed companies, complaint deadline and insufficient security are seen as holes in Canada’s farm support
Agfinity leaves wide swath of unpaid farmers
In early October, I wrote a column about a grain broker in a financial squeeze leaving an undetermined number of producers unpaid for grain deliveries made many months earlier. At the time, I didn’t name the broker as being Agfinity because the owner, Joseph Billett, seemed sincere in his efforts to work his way out […] Read more
Agfinity shuttered, new brokerage facing online questions
UPDATED – November 19, 2024 – 1545 CST – Adds comments from Agfinity president Joseph Billett. Glacier FarmMedia – Stuck with a bin of heated canola and few options for marketing the downgraded crop, Barry Kitt of Myrnam, Alta. was happy this past summer when a brokerage found him a decent price. A sale was […] Read more
Disputes with China accelerated and frozen by COVID-19
Where will Canadian farmers stand in a new Cold War?
In some ways the COVID-19 crisis has frozen Canada’s and other countries’ disputes with China, drawing everybody’s attention to the immediate needs of preserving national healthcare systems, protecting people’s health, and dealing with the devastating job losses and business failures provoked by the coronavirus. Just today the U.S. government announced that over 30 million U.S. […] Read more
Your view: Large corporate farm model
Ever since Broadacre Agriculture requested bankruptcy protection social media has been abuzz with producers and ag industry stakeholders commenting on the efficacy of the large corporate farm model. Some commentators claim bigger isn’t necessarily better and that the benefits of economies of scale do not increase infinitely, that a point of diminishing returns is reached. […] Read more
Lack of capital to blame: Broadacre
Broadacre Agriculture’s creditors will get paid and the company’s shareholders will walk away with some assets, says the company’s chief executive officer. “We have $14 million worth of crop that we’re marketing now and we own a bunch of land, so we have equity,” said Gary Pike, who is one of the firm’s founders. The […] Read more
Size isn’t always the answer: One Earth
Fixing flaws at ground level | New leader says farm proves big doesn’t guarantee profits
Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to grain farming, says the head of a company that used to bill itself as the largest farm in Canada. Mike Beretta, chief executive officer of One Earth Farms, says the business model is far more important than the scope of a company. He said One Earth Farms […] Read moreFarm owner blames ownership rules
Broadacre Agriculture seeks bankruptcy protection | Pension fund ineligible to own land
One of Saskatchewan’s largest grain farms could have stayed afloat if not for a wishy-washy provincial government policy, says the company’s chief executive officer. Broadacre Agriculture has been granted creditor protection by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta after the company was unable to service its loans. The firm has until Dec. 4 to […] Read more
