Terry Lerat, a band councilor with Cowessess First Nation, stands in a cattle pen.

FCC program tackles Indigenous borrowing barriers

Farm Credit Canada provides ‘à la carte’ loan options to First Nations farmers unable to access conventional financing

Glacier FarmMedia – First Nations farmers have often been frozen out of agricultural lending. An all-Indigenous team at Farm Credit Canada is working to ensure they get the capital they need. “We’re taking Indigenous voices, we’re taking what you’re telling us, and we’re trying to implement that change here … to meet the needs of […] Read more

Reconciliation can happen,one relationship at a time

Reconciliation can happen,one relationship at a time

Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is a day for sombre reflection on a painful chapter in Canada’s history, that of residential schools and their lasting impact on Indigenous peoples. While these reflections cannot change the past, they can inform how we build our shared future. For rural Canada, some of the […] Read more

Terry Lerat of Cowessess First Nation speaks at Ag in Motion. | Ed White photo

First Nations should demand at-market lease rates: Lerat

Glacier FarmMedia – First Nations need to stop leasing out their land to non-Indigenous farmers for below-market prices, says farmer and band councillor Terry Lerat of Cowessess First Nation in south-central Saskatchewan. Instead, bands should be getting every penny they can for the farmland they own and using that money to get themselves back into […] Read more


Indigenous Producers Panel L to R: Milton Tootoosis, Warren Many Grey Horses, Darryl McElroy. | Ed White photo

Indigenous producers discuss farming challenges in AIM Panel

Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers on the Ag in Motion Indigenous Producers Panel say there isn’t enough Indigenous agriculture today and there’s too much reliance on others for lifestyle. Indigenous people have been farming for thousands of years—a fact that is often forgotten or dismissed. It’s ebbed and flowed over the centuries, with it growing during […] Read more

After 65 years in the industry, Terry Lerat is right at home working with and talking about cattle. | Jessica Nixon photo

Reconnecting a First Nations community to agriculture

Snow swirls outside the doors at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Sask., as winter falls on the city in November of 2022. However, the fluffy flakes that fill the streets don’t deter the crowds. All around are cowboy hats and worn-out baseball caps, a sign of defiance against the bitter cold and snow-heavy clouds. Terry […] Read more