Farm business
Why exterior paint matters more on a farm than it looks
Putting off exterior paint on a farmhouse or barn saves money this year and often turns a paint bill into a carpentry bill later.
George Morris Centre explains the economics behind Canadian food and farming.
Plain, careful writing on supply management, trade, food prices, farm business and the value chains that link a field to a grocery shelf. Who gains, who pays and what the evidence says.
What’s new
How tariff rate quotas work, from import permit to landed cost
· Duncan Strathearn
A tariff rate quota lets a set volume in at a low duty and charges far more on the rest. How quotas are allocated, why they go unfilled and what they cost.
Read the analysis ›How cost-of-production pricing sets the price of milk in Canada
· Colette Ranville
From a survey of farm costs to a price change each February: how the Canadian Dairy Commission turns farm costs into milk prices, with a worked example.
Read the analysis ›Foundation repair, explained for farm families with an older farmhouse
· Duncan Strathearn
A crack in a farmhouse foundation can be cheap to address now or costly later, and who pays often depends on who owns the building next.
Read the analysis ›What a water heater really costs a dairy or farm household
· Colette Ranville
Hot water is a quiet input on dairies and farm households; here is what a heater costs over its life and who carries the risk when it fails.
Read the analysis ›
More analysis
Food and rural economy
What group travel really costs a farm group heading into the mountains
Driving a farm group into the mountains looks cheap until the drivers' hours and the winter weather risk are put on the ledger.
Farm business
What water damage really costs a farm or rural food business
Drying out water damage yourself looks cheaper than calling a crew, until you price the hidden moisture left behind walls and floors.
Farm business
How a home EV charger fits into the economics of a farmhouse
A home EV charger on a farm is a small purchase on top of a bigger question: how much electrical capacity the farmstead has and who owns it.
Value chains and food waste
Why food processing plants close in Canada, and what keeps others open
Food processing is Canada's largest manufacturing industry, yet well-known plants still close. What decides which ones shut, which stay, and which get a second life.
Value chains and food waste
Value chain collaboration in practice: how farmers and processors share risk
Contracts, shared data and joint problem solving can spread risk between farms and processors. How the main arrangements work, and why some partnerships fail.
From the papers shelf
- Is food really dearer in Canada than in the United States?Cross-border shoppers swear food is cheaper in the US. Sometimes it is. A look at exchange rates, scale, distance, taxes and supply management, item by item.
- Cutting food waste as a business decisionFood a business throws away was paid for twice: once to buy it, again to bin it. How plants and stores treat waste as lost margin, with a worked bakery example.
- How food inflation is measured and forecast in CanadaFood inflation comes from a weighted basket, not a till receipt. How Canada measures grocery and restaurant prices, what moves them and how to read a forecast.
- Sustainability certification schemes for fruit and vegetable growersGlobalG.A.P., CanadaGAP, organic and retailer codes all ask growers for audits. What each scheme covers, what it costs a small farm, and how they overlap.
- The economics of Ontario's craft cider makersA small cidery is an orchard, a factory and a shop at once. How apples, licensing, taxes and retail channels shape the money behind a bottle of Ontario cider.
- Environmental farm plans and what food buyers ask of farmsFood companies want proof that farms are run sustainably. How Ontario's voluntary Environmental Farm Plan works, and whether it can serve as that proof.