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Farm business

Tom Button
Opinion

Editor’s Note: The other side of the success story

At Country Guide, we do get criticized for seeming to print only stories about successes, not failures, but we don’t get as much flak as you might think… and we all know the reason why

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Reading Time: 2 minutes You can see it again in the lineup of stories we bring you in our March 1 issue of Country Guide. For the next generation of Canada’s farmers, “average” won’t cut it. Our future farmers must run farms that score an A if not an A+ in every category… or they will face tall odds against […] Read more
Men watching sunset
Guide Business, Succession strategy

Succession shocker

The percentage of farm families with a succession plan is going down. That’s right —DOWN! — even though those same families still see succession planning as crucial to success

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Reading Time: 4 minutes The day I caught up with famed farm family coach, Elaine Froese, she had already had two conversations with families who cannot bring sibling partners to the table. Phrases like “avoidance of conflict,” “bullying” and “silence is a form of violence” tumble out of her. “Procrastination and conflict avoidance are the root of the issue […] Read more
Alberta farmers Robert and Angela Semeniuk use a 10-year capital acquisition plan to keep on target with key production and financial objectives for their farm. The plan forces them to closely look at the impact of land and machinery expenditures on their cash flow… and their creditors love it.
Guide Business, Management

Building a capital plan

The 10-year capital acquisition plan they’ve created for their farm gives the Semeniuks a decision-making boost, plus more resilience

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Reading Time: 8 minutes In early October, Robert and Angela Semeniuk woke to deep snow blanketing their picturesque farm at Smoky Lake, north of Edmonton. Their hearts sank. Silence had descended on a scene that was supposed to be humming with harvest, leaving more than half of their canola in the field. But on that cold, grey fall morning, […] Read more
men in doorway of barn
Guide Business, Succession strategy

Young and old

The farm version of the generation gap means that succession talks on many farms stall before they even get a fair chance to start. Here, adviser Delores Moskal shares her ideas for seeing eye to eye

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Reading Time: 6 minutes When it comes time to put succession planning on your personal agenda, there are only a couple of ways for it to go, says Delores Moskal. There are the parents who are open to talking succession with the next generation. And then there are parents reluctant to even broach the subject with the kids. So […] Read more
Tom Towers (l) was looking to retire, but wanted to ensure their farm would live on. Blake Hall wanted to farm, but didn’t have the equity. With the help of legal agreements, an outside facilitator, and a commitment to open communication, each is reaching their goal.
Guide Business, Livestock

Taking the farm beyond the family

It takes smarts and determination to use your farm to help a new farmer get their start, but the rewards can be deeply satisfying

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Reading Time: 9 minutes Four years ago, Tom and Margaret Towers were facing a dilemma that’s becoming increasingly common for farm couples as they move into what are politely called their senior years. The Towers knew they couldn’t continue to manage alone forever, and they also knew they wouldn’t want to leave the farm near Red Deer, which they’d […] Read more
I also need to pay attention to what is happening in the rest of the world,” Frank Groeneweg says. “The crops may not be the same as I am growing here, but what can I learn from their experience?”
Crops, Guide Business

Watching for bears

Change Makers: Saskatchewan’s Franck Groeneweg defends his farm against factors that prevent him changing as fast as he needs to

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Reading Time: 7 minutes Franck Groeneweg is a young, progressive agri-businessman from central Saskatchewan, and like most of his neighbours, he accepts the fact the only constant in life and in farming is change. “There is always going to be change, and I try to embrace it,” Groeneweg says. “I look at it and ask, what is the opportunity […] Read more
For Monea, as for the other operators in the article, success takes business discipline, and solid customer relations.
Crops, Guide Business

Custom business

Custom operators like Troy Monea are under pressure to boost customer service and to intensify their business management. In this game, there’s less and less room for the uncommitted

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Reading Time: 10 minutes The same stories get told over and over again. For instance, when Troy Monea was growing his busy custom farm business near Falun, Alta., he reached out to a potential competitor. “They had got so big so fast, I didn’t know how I could compete,” Monea recalls. “I couldn’t offer what he was offering, so […] Read more
Being diversified, our risk management is spread, but that also means we aren’t as efficient as we could be when you compare to other operations really specialized in one commodity like grain and oilseed or strictly cattle.” – Ken Lewis
Crops, Guide Business, Livestock

Diversification the name of the game for Lewis Farms

Change Makers: From potatoes to grain to a commercial bull business, Lewis Farms has diversified to manage risk and accommodate market challenges

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Reading Time: 7 minutes “Sometimes, progress simply isn’t possible without change,” says Ken Lewis, general manager of Lewis Farms in Spruce Grove, just west of Edmonton, Alta. Which means that ignoring opportunities to change, or actively resisting change when it arrives can actually be the paths of greatest risk. Because change will happen. In fact, like other farmers, Lewis […] Read more
For Krystal and Eric, love and commitment mean more than a marriage certificate, but they also worked out the legal details.
Guide Business

Living together, farming together

Common-law is the choice for more and more young farming couples

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Reading Time: 11 minutes As Eric Walker tells me about his farm, there’s lots of talk about complex business structures and about his ambitious plans. And there’s lots of talk, too, about family, hope and love. “It’s been a constant whirlwind of expansion, a blur of building, and three babies… that’s on top of the three we already had,” […] Read more
We’re a family business, not a business family,” Gale says. “We believe in empowering individuals… not just in the workplace but in the family too.” – Wayne Gale
Guide Business

Meet in the boardroom

Change Makers: A two-pronged plan helped Stokes Seeds grow its business, despite strong personalities within the family

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Reading Time: 9 minutes Wayne Gale never forgot something he heard at a seminar 20 years ago, just after he had made the decision to enter the family business and work with his father. “When there are only two people running a business,” the speaker said, “it’s an argument.” So what do you do when you have two smart, […] Read more

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