Reading Time: 7 minutes In many cases, Canadian farms are being transferred to the next generation. But that’s “many,” not “all.” And if you’re in a situation where transition is unclear, or if you know your final plan will be to sell out, it’s time to get thinking about your options for building a farm exit plan. What does […] Read more
Do you have an exit strategy for your farm?
For whatever reason, if your farm isn’t going to get transferred to your family’s next generation, these are big questions you need to get started on
How to become the partner everyone wants to work with
On today’s larger farms, the partners are up close. They’re your relatives. They farm out of the same yard. Shouldn’t they recognize what you bring to the farm? Maybe not, says cross-border farm advisor Andy Junkin
Reading Time: 3 minutes Maybe your partner is your parent, in-law, sibling, cousin or friend. It doesn’t matter. At some point, says advisor Andy Junkin, there is bound to be tension in the relationship. In fact, if you dig into any farm, that kind of tension is something you’re bound to see, which explains why he calls his service […] Read more
The view at year 8
Like so many young farmers, what Dane Froese wants isn’t so different from what his parents wanted at his age. But can he find his way there in farming today?
Reading Time: 14 minutes Growing up, I always admired the work that Dad did on the farm,” says Dane Froese, 30 years old and eight years into his plan to become a fourth-generation farmer at Winkler, an hour and a half south of Winnipeg. Froese doesn’t round off the edges. He knows what he wants, And he knows it […] Read more
The way to retire
Especially on the farm, planning for a happy retirement really does a make a difference
Reading Time: 7 minutes Here’s an unpopular question. When are you going to retire from the farm? This is often a taboo topic because it’s hard to know when you’ll be ready, and just as hard, if not harder, to know what it means to retire. To a farmer, retirement could read like a death sentence. Or does it […] Read more
Free mental health training, workshops offered for farmers
Do More Ag Foundation expands programming available
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers seeking mental health support will have access to free training and community workshops for the fourth year in a row via the Do More Agriculture Foundation (DMAF) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Factors such as financial insecurity, uncontrollable weather and isolating working conditions contribute to high depression, anxiety and suicide rates among farmers, according […] Read more
Have a decade-long plan for farm succession
Every farm has at least 10 jobs that take 10 years to learn. No wonder transitions are so complicated
Reading Time: 8 minutes Whatever word you use — whether you call it wisdom or if you think of it as insight — it may always be essential for running any farm but it is doubly important during transition. That’s “doubly” for a good reason, because not only does the senior generation need insight into the transition process if […] Read more
A new path to the farm’s future
Today’s farm families think in terms of transition, not succession, and they’re setting new goal posts too
Reading Time: 8 minutes The questions may be the same, but the tone has changed, says Kent Gulash, longtime farm family coach from Saskatoon. When families meet their transition advisors these days, they’re coming from a different place. “That’s because the dynamics around the value of farms have changed,” Gulash says. There’s trepidation now, he explains. Will the farm’s […] Read more
After Fiona, climate experts urge Canada to fix flagship adaptation strategy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s first national climate adaptation strategy needs to be improved to include near-term targets and specific solutions ahead of its November release to mitigate worsening global warming impacts, experts advising the government told Reuters in the wake of devastation caused by storm Fiona. Fiona, one of the worst storms to ever hit Canada, […] Read more
Young and bankable
Are you in your teens or 20s, and want to farm? It’s time to show you’re ready for the discipline of financial management
Reading Time: 4 minutes Growing numbers of family farms across Canada have started on the transition journey. They’re actively working at creating pathways that will give the next generation their shot at calling themselves farmers. For tons of these hopeful farmers, though, there’s a big question. How can they become bankable? Sure, Mom and Dad may think they are […] Read more
Bold Strides: Through efficient family-based planning
The first in our five-part “Bold Strides” series on farm families that are committing to big thinking through family planning, new ventures, revenue diversification, innovation and business operations. THIS MONTH: the Griffioen family, owners and operators of Vrederijk Dairy in Tavistock, Ontario
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since immigrating from Holland in 1997, Dirk and Karin Griffioen have continuously expanded their farming operation. Today, on a land base of 400 acres, the dairy milks over 140 cows with a robotic milking system. Now, after two decades of building, Dirk and Karin are looking to the future and for the best ways to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
