Reading Time: 10 minutes Transitioning the family farm to the next generation is never easy. But how much harder when the parents have their doubts whether their next generation has the skills or the personality to manage the operation? On more and more farms, the wise thing would be for the kids to set out to prove to Mom […] Read more
Impressing Mom and Dad
There’s more reason than ever for farm kids to prove to Mom and Dad that they’ve got what it takes to be trusted with the farm. Question is: do the kids realize it?
The next farm generation steps up
On this farm, transition planning made real gains once the younger generation learned how to take their role in the process
Reading Time: 11 minutes Alec Boekhoven had turned over at 2 a.m., fretting about ways to reduce feed costs on his family’s 600-sow farrow-to-finish operation. Eventually he drifted off on the couch, which is where his son Evan discovered him and woke him up early. It’s why Alec brought his three-year-old with him to do chores, and it also […] Read more
Prepping the kids for the financial reality of farm ownership
It may be the biggest question of all. When is the right time to give the kids a voice in business planning?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Now that summer’s on the doorstep, the kids are home from school, and your planning and preparation for the growing season are over, it’s an ideal time to have some important conversations with your family members around succession planning. As anyone who has gone through the process knows, succession planning within the family can be […] Read more
Their big idea
As Mike Kosaka and Adriane Skaros are learning, it takes determination, toughness, and plenty of smarts to succeed as a local-food startup. How many smarts? Well, read on
Reading Time: 10 minutes Young Zoe Jones and Ava Kosaka have sized me up. The girls are ultra-enthusiastic entrepreneurs. They’ve got a marketing plan, they’ve perfected their product, and — just weeks into production — they’re already watching the dollars roll in. Of course, the girls may be only seven and nine years old, respectively, but they already know […] Read more
Between spouses
Formalizing the informal partnership
Reading Time: 3 minutes Joint ownership between spouses has been a long-standing fixture in the farming community, with each holding equal influence when it comes to making key business decisions. It is widely acknowledged and recognized that spouses are key influencers in business decisions. They have always stood front and centre in financial negotiations, are equal participants in professional […] Read more
Leadership on the go
What does it take for farmers like Saskatchewan’s Bernie McClean to make themselves into better business leaders?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Growing as a leader takes stretch goals, and it takes finding out about your weaknesses and strengths. It might also take consciously building a network of smart, capable people, and finding mentors and role models to look up to. Plus it takes learning how to really listen, and how to be really heard. And none […] Read more
Editor’s Note: The right way to end the winter
Reading Time: 2 minutes It wasn’t a phone call that I had expected to get. The caller wasn’t from what you’d call our target audience. But then, he had been good enough to call, and after all, he did have a point. The call actually came from a Home Hardware franchisee who had taken over a small-town store not […] Read more
Advisor vs. adviser
Are you sure you should trust the person who is advising you on your financial future?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Life, business and farming are all becoming increasingly complicated. As a result, individuals in every walk of life, including farmers, are turning to advisers for help. The public has an expectation that these advisers are highly trained, that they are experts in their field, and that they will work in the best interests of the […] Read more
The ‘insight’ bonus
More brothers and sisters: Knowing each other’s characters so well means this family is ready for almost any challenge
Reading Time: 5 minutes Brothers and sisters are working together on more farms all the time. More and more too, there are multiple siblings on these farms, not just one of each. To outsiders, it can seem like so many more chances for family to get in the way, and so many chances for old rivalries to flare up. […] Read more
Honest to goodness
More brothers and sisters: For the Noble family, success means learning how to change open communication from a threat into a strength
Reading Time: 4 minutes Brothers and sisters are working together on more farms all the time. More and more too, there are multiple siblings on these farms, not just one of each. To outsiders, it can seem like so many more chances for family to get in the way, and so many chances for old rivalries to flare up. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
