Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Financing and leveraging

Question:
You need capital to start making money. You need money to get the capital. How do you get one without the other?

In the past few years we have been investigating different options on how we can generate more cash flow (and hopefully profit) on our little farm in northern Huron Cty. Currently it is cropped, with the use of borrowed family member's equipment. I personally have a preference to do livestock due to the current building set-up on farm.
One avenue we have looked at is the dairy sector (we like cows for various reasons). When talking with bankers - "so how much quota do your parents have?" Oh, so we need "sponsorship" program in order to start. :-)
Lately, with the drop in the value of quota, we have talked about it again. One former banker suggested borrowing no more than $20,000 per kg quota. Yeah - that works great when quota is $25,000. So we start with 6 cows. Whatever.
This is where young folk have an issue with beginning farming. We have ideas that could improve efficiencies, labour management, productivity gains, reducing environmental "footprints"... etc. But to get the "elder" generation to agree is about as easy as moving Mt Everest.
One example I recall from Prof. Kohl was a 60 year old man walked up at a family succession planning meeting. He was interested in talking more about succession planning. Kohl was thinking "Oh he wants to retire and get his son more involved." No. His father and his son were walking up behind him. He wanted to get the farm from his 80+ yr old father, who was using a cane. So when would his 40 yr old son be able to farm? After he is eligible for retirement?
A few years ago every banker was willing to lend hundreds of thousands for a pig barn fully stocked. We always said no since I felt there was no future in pigs in Ontario for me. They also were willing to lend the same amount for a modern dairy - if my father would "give" his quota over.
In a super-big-box store in London one day a conversation with another customer came around to "taking over the family farm". She thought ALL farmers literally gave the farm to their children. because that is what happened in her family, her in-laws, and her neighbours - in the old country.
Well with that kind of capital, why do we need to worry about the question at the start?

Views: 98

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Andrew Campbell on September 29, 2009 at 3:08am
This raises a lot of great points Wayne - thanks for posting it. I know in our case - we're very fortunate to have parents who WANT us there, and know part of us being there is being owners. It also brings up this video with Elaine Froese on AgVision TV - Barriers to Succession Planning - http://agvisiontv.farms.com/default.aspx?vid=vid_342009135751534

Let's get a good discussion going here. Do you agree with those barriers? Any way to work around those.

I know the thing we really have to watch for is around that conflict. We need to make sure we put those conflicts on the table - rather than trying to avoid them. None of us like conflict, but it is something we are going to have to get better at dealing with.

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Hursh: My canola acreage prediction

Statistics Canada will release a seeded area estimate on June 30. This will be based on data collected in late May and early June. I'm predicting a larger than expected increase in canola acreage. In its preliminary seeding intentions report back in March, Statistics Canada predicted a 1.0 per cent increase in Canadian canola area to 21.8 million acres. A lot has happened since then and canola prices have seen more strength than other commodities. Canola also looks good from a crop insurance coverage point of view even in non-traditional canola growing regions. Canola is already a large percentage of the cropland in central and northern areas of the grain belt limiting how much more it can increase. However, I believe acreage may have increased dramatically in many southern regions. In southwest Saskatchewan where I farm, I can’t remember seeing so many canola fields. Canola here still isn’t nearly as common as lentils or durum, but there’s a surprising amount of canola and mos

Seeding virtually done in Saskatchewan, though some acres unseeded

The latest provincial crop report indicates seeding is basically done in Saskatchewan as progress is marked at 99 per cent complete. A map of seeding progress province-wide shows an area from Hudson Bay down to Yorkton is between 85 and 95 per cent complete, with pockets at less than 80 per cent complete. The east-central region as a whole is at 96 per cent complete while other regions are at 99 or 100 per cent. However, three per cent of acres of the province went unseeded due to excessive moisture. "Similarly, three per cent of forage crops have excess moisture and are unlikely to produce a crop while two per cent of pastureland is not accessible or is unusable," states the report. "In areas experiencing reduced moisture, two per cent of the seeded acreage this spring in the province is affected. Five per cent of the forage crops may have yields significantly impacted, while five per cent of pastures may have reduced carrying capacity." Rainfall this past week delayed fieldwork,

Cereals Canada Releases its 2025 Annual Report

Cereals Canada has released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting a year of strong market development, technical leadership, and advocacy efforts that reinforced Canada’s position as a leading global supplier of high-quality wheat, durum, oats, and barley. Throughout 2025, Cereals Canada continued to support international customers and strengthen demand for Canadian cereals through targeted market development programming, technical expertise, and proactive market access engagement. Canada exported cereals to more than 80 countries, with cereal exports valued at approximately $12.8 billion annually, demonstrating continued global confidence in Canadian quality and reliability. A key priority throughout the year remained helping global customers understand and optimize the value of Canadian cereals. Through technical support, customer outreach, and crop quality programming, Cereals Canada worked closely with global buyers to ensure Canadian quality translated into measurable value throu

Cereals Canada Announces New Board Leadership

Adam Dyck, industry representative from Warburtons, has been elected Chair of the Cereals Canada Board of Directors. As Chair, Dyck will help lead the organization’s work to strengthen Canada’s position as a trusted supplier of high-quality wheat, durum, barley, and oats. Rounding out the executive committee is Josh Boersen, producer representative from Grain Farmers of Ontario, as Vice-Chair; Rob Stone, producer representative from Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, as Secretary; and Jean-Marc Ruest, industry representative from Richardson International, as Treasurer. The Board also welcomed four newly elected directors, whose insight and leadership will guide the organization’s efforts to support market development, customer engagement, and innovation across the cereals sector. “The Board of Directors plays a critical role in guiding our work on behalf of Canada’s cereals value chain,” said Dean Dias, chief executive officer of Cereals Canada. “We are pleased to welcome Ad

Knowledge Centre receives $2.6 million from Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative

Stretching across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, Canada’s prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators and people, while also sustaining soil health, water systems, livestock production, and Indigenous stewardship. Yet of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands in Canada, only 26 million acres remain intact today. What remains of prairie grasslands represents a rare and urgent opportunity to protect biodiversity at scale. “Indigenous lifeways, languages, and food systems evolved with the environment, and these reciprocal relationships shaped the ecological processes that can restore the health of grasslands,” said Candice Pete-Cardoso, director of the kihci-okawimaw askiy Knowledge Centre at USask. The new Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network has been launched by the kihci-okawimaw askiy Knowledge Centre together with the Indigenous Kinship Circle (IKC). The IKC is a cross-boundary community of

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service