'One-size-fits-all solutions do not cover the different situations each producer will face.' – Lance Stockbrugger, Englefeld, Sask.

The tax man cometh

… and you need a long-term plan

If there’s one thing Lance Stockbrugger knows about farmers and ranchers, it’s that they don’t like paying tax. Stockbrugger, who farms near Englefeld, Sask., is a chartered accountant, specializing in income tax, who has spent 20 years sharing his specialized agriculture knowledge with his clients in areas of estate planning, tax reorganization and intergenerational transitions. […] Read more


Closeup of the flags of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA members on textile texture. NAFTA is the world's largest trade bloc and the member countries are Canada, United States and Mexico. 3D rendering with detailed textured grunge effect on closeup.

CCA Report: Speaking up for NAFTA

From the February 2018 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) leadership travelled to two major agriculture policy conventions in the United States in early January to promote common interests in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and urge progress on regulatory modernization to improve the flow of trade between the two countries. The advocacy efforts are part of an increasingly […] Read more

Manuel Antonio, National Park in Costa Rica - beautiful tropical beach at pacific coast

A different kind of man

Straight from the hip with Brenda Schoepp

It was a unique classroom setting, sitting upon a log at the seaside. In the distance the mountain peaks were blue shadows and the ocean was this day like glass; gentle and caressing her shores with the hand of a guiding mother. The topic between this day’s teacher and I was the relationship between gross […] Read more


Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (c) addresses the media with Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo (l) and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (r) at the close of the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada in Ottawa, Ont., on September 27, 2017.

NAFTA talks take a sinister turn

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

The NAFTA negotiators have completed Rounds 3 and 4 and the progress has been glacial. What we don’t know is whether that is just as well, seeing we can’t be sure what will satisfy President Trump. Round 3, held in Canada, was devoted to getting on paper the items the three countries could agree on. […] Read more



Comment: Take the long view on CETA

As our Oct. 23 issue of Canadian Cattlemen arrives in your mailbox the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union will have been in force for about a month. Not much has happened since it came into force on September 21, at least as far as the beef industry is […] Read more

TPP gets a shot in the arm

Trade: News Roundup from the October 23, 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

On September 30 Global Affairs Canada gave the cattle industry a shot in the arm by officially opening consultations with the Canadian public over a renewed agreement with the remaining countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The original agreement among 12 Asian-Pacific countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, […] Read more


Closeup of the flags of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA members on textile texture. NAFTA is the world's largest trade bloc and the member countries are Canada, United States and Mexico. 3D rendering with detailed textured grunge effect on closeup.

After two rounds

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

Two rounds of NAFTA renegotiation have been held and the three participants have been sizing each other up. While the three nations laid out their objectives in the first round, the second round was more about consolidating the things all three can agree on and cutting out the things that will be more difficult or […] Read more