4 Our Advertisers Appreciate Your Business Better Farming | November/December 2023 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR LAND VALUES CLIMB; MERGER CONCERNS Limited availability of farmland for sale is pushing land values still higher, according to a mid-year report from Farm Credit Canada. In the first six months of 2023 the national average growth rate of farmland was 7.7 per cent. The highest farmland value increase over the last six months was reported in Saskatchewan (11.4 per cent). Ontario and Manitoba saw nearly identical increases, with farmland values in Ontario increasing by 6.9 per cent, and Manitoba by 6.4 per cent. Alberta had a more modest increase of three per cent. Farm cash receipts are anticipated to increase 6.6 per cent in 2023. But as farm operations exercise caution in spending, farmland value appreciation is anticipated to slow until the uncertainty over the current economic environment vanishes. “Purchasing farmland is a very strategic decision for producers,” says FCC’s chief economist J.P. Gervais. “They need to assess whether they can earn enough from the larger land base they’ve acquired and if not, whether other areas of the operation generate enough income to pay for the land. Monitoring farmland price trends can assist in making the best decisions for individual operations.” At press time, leaders from four farm groups representing the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), SaskCanola, Sask Wheat and SaskBarley submitted a letter to Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Minister, urging the provincial government to conduct a risk assessment of the proposed merger of Bunge and Viterra, currently under review by Transport Canada and Competition Bureau Canada. The letter commends the government’s past efforts, specifically referencing the assessments conducted in 2010 for the proposed merger of BHP Billiton and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and the 2012 examination of the Glencore-Viterra merger. The four organizations strongly advocate for a similarly rigorous approach for the present proposal, as some Prairie producers have recently expressed concerns over the proposed merger. Paul Nolan What are your retirement plans? Ron Settler looks at collecting vintage tractors, woodworking, drag racing, and more on Page 48. Leslie Stewart photo 1-888-248-4893 PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PAUL NOLAN ext 202 Paul.Nolan@Farms.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LESLIE STEWART ext 265 Leslie.Stewart@Farms.com AGRICULTURAL JOURNALIST EMILY CROFT PRAIRIE CONTRIBUTORS SHANNON CHANT RICHARD KAMCHEN Swift Current, Sask. Winnipeg, Man. RON SETTLER AMBER WALL Lucky Lake, Sask. Swift Current, Sask. NATIONAL CONTRIBUTORS MOE AGOSTINO ABHINESH GOPAL PATRICK LYNCH LAUREN QUINN ADVERTISING TEAM GLENN RUEGG JEFF McKEE JENNY LONGSTREET SCOTT FARHOOD SAMANTHA RENAUD JOAN SPIEGELBERG ANDREW BAWDEN DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM TANYA MYERS GREG MARLOW SHAUN CLARK ANDREA WILLIAMS www.BetterFarming.com Follow us on Twitter @PrairieFarming Better Farming Magazine, Prairie Edition is mailed to producers in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Next issue: January 2024. 1-888-248-4893 ext 281 Subscriptions@BetterFarming.com ISSN 2563-9803 (Printed) Copyright ©2023 by AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content without written permission of the publisher is forbidden. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, its products or services, nor do Better Farming, AgMedia or Farms.com endorse any advertiser claims. The publisher shall have no liability for the omission of any scheduled advertising. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 90 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, ON N1H 1B2 Mail agreement #0042518524 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Cover: Matt Smith photo, Jodie Alred photo
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