two farmers in a chicken barn. one of them is holding a digital tablet

VIDEO: How to go from managing to mentoring

Summer Series: How you lead matters. Subtle but powerful shifts in your leadership style can make a world of difference to your employees and, consequently, to your farm business

Reading Time: 2 minutes There’s a moment every leader remembers: that moment when someone looks at them differently. Not because of what that leader did, but because of how they did it. That’s mentorship. There have been a few times in my career where I’ve had glimpses of a true mentor. Those moments stand out. But the most impactful […] Read more

Farmer in blue jeans and a hoodie walking toward a red combine.

Great farm leaders have dirt under their fingernails

Summer Series: Agriculture has had its share of great leaders. But what happens to the industry when the leadership pool starts to dry up?

Reading Time: 2 minutes I don’t believe that leaders are born. I believe they are made. I also believe that we are on the cusp of losing a significant amount of leadership in agriculture.  Canadian and U.S. farmer demographics indicate that approximately 65 per cent of the industry is in the exit strategy stage. We are about to lose […] Read more


Rear view of a male farm worker with phone walking outside along the large grain storage silos on farm

Alternative financing options to cash flow your farm business

These days farmers have a lot more options when seeking alternative lending arrangements for farm business projects

Reading Time: 7 minutes As land values and input costs continue to rise, alternative lending is becoming more common. Farmers are looking for more creative and flexible options to finance their business expansion, transition or diversification projects. Country Guide explored some of the options available with the proviso that there is no one-size-fits-all-solution, just as there is no one-size, […] Read more

A man and woman use a tablet to analyze plants inside a sunny greenhouse

Alternative lending options for farm businesses

Previously often perceived as a last resort, alternative lending options can help farm operators navigate short-term challenges and get back to their long-term plan

Reading Time: 6 minutes Alternative lending has had a bit of a bad rap in the past. Alternative lending is a term for non-traditional methods or channels that finance businesses outside of the traditional finance system, such as banks. The past decade has seen an increase in the number of alternative financing options designed to meet each farm operation’s […] Read more


Tara Sawyer.

What is work worth?

Women’s work in the ag industry has long been under-recognized and undervalued. Has the industry finally advanced its collective thoughts and actions around this idea? Some experts say ‘yes’

Reading Time: 7 minutes For Tara Sawyer, the term “farm wife” has always been a point of pride. Sawyer, who farms with her husband, Matt, in Acme, Alta., always felt the term signifies partnership. “I have always taken great pride in calling myself a farm wife. I am a farm wife, and I’m a stay-at-home mom, and yes, I […] Read more

There are a number of long-held beliefs that can create barriers for the farm transition process.

Beliefs your farm could be better without

Why don’t farm transition plans advance over time? Usually because families fall into one of these thinking traps

Reading Time: 3 minutes Beliefs, or “the rules we live by,” deeply influence our choices and assumptions. They show up in our day-to-day lives and we treat them as respected “facts,” when that may not be the case. We tend not to question or consider whether these beliefs are true. These rules are often learned in the household in […] Read more



farm family portrait

A guide for farm growth

Vision statements are more common on today’s farms. How can creating one help you?

Reading Time: 6 minutes Why does your farm need a vision? To Jeannette French and her husband Brian, co-owners of Lennox Farms in Melancthon, Ont., the answer is simple. “No matter your farm size, a vision is something that drives you every day. It’s born from your values and is the backbone of what you believe.” Six years ago, […] Read more


Jeff Rowe is CEO of the global Syngenta Group. He was recently combining corn at his family’s farm in Illinois.

In the combine

Syngenta leader Jeff Rowe talks about being prepared for leadership and the importance of listening to people

Reading Time: 3 minutes Jeff Rowe, CEO of the Syngenta Group, doesn’t often get home to his farm near Princeton, Illinois. He’s usually operating from his base in Basel, Switzerland, instead. But when he does get back to the Midwest, you might catch up to him running a planter in the spring or the combine in the fall, just […] Read more

In order to consider if growth is possible, it requires solving the growth formula for your farm.

The formula for farm growth

Capital + Risk + Execution = Farm SUCCESS

Reading Time: 3 minutes “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.” That’s how John C. Maxwell said it, and he might have said it best. It’s easy to look around the ag industry and see changes in the landscape. Suppliers, competitors and customers are consolidating and growing. Yet growth is often met with more scorn in farming than in these […] Read more