Daily Network News

More News →

Farm business

Despite higher costs, Canada can be competitive through higher productivity and diversification, say Cam and Stephanie Murphy, front, with her mother Carol, sister Lacey and father Dean.
Dairy Cattle, Guide Business

Taking control of their dairy future

For this young couple, the future means a multi-pronged business strategy, with cost control, diversification and a focus on efficiency

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes Just as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was being signed last fall, Cam and Stephanie Murphy were signing a very different sort of partnership agreement. They were becoming part owners of a 45-cow dairy farm near Hastings, two hours east of Toronto. Together with Stephanie’s parents, Dean and Carol Warner, they took on a seven-figure debt […] Read more
Increased efficiency and lower debt will also aid succession, say Jan and Tracy Bassa, here with oldest son Derrick.
Dairy Cattle, Guide Business

Focusing on efficiency in dairy production

The good old days aren’t coming back, but the Bassas believe success is still possible for farms that focus from top to bottom on efficiency

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes In 1991, Piet and Ina Bassa sold their dairy farm in Holland, packed up their family and headed to Canada, leaving not only Europe’s high costs but also its tough environmental regulations and manure quotas that made expansion almost impossible. Importantly, their sons, Jan and Kees, were keen to start farming, so the family bought […] Read more
Garreth (l), their mother Connie and Paul check orders for the diversifed retail Spenst Brothers business, where eight years has gone into developing a reputation for consistent quality.
Beef Cattle, Guide Business

Location, location

The Spenst family are farmers first, but with a farm that extends right to the store counter

By
Reading Time: 8 minutes When Garry Spenst and his sons, Paul and Garreth, heard that the Real Canadian Superstore was coming to Winkler, Man. they took the biggest gamble of their lives. The family paid $100,000 to buy the lot right next door. Soon, they were building their family-owned retail meat store, Spenst Brothers Premium Meats, a project that […] Read more
I learned the patience game,” says Lauchie, “especially nearing the end of the seven years when I wanted to get things moving.”
Guide Business, Management

Lessons from a non-family farm succession

For Lauchie and Jolene MacEachern, a seven-year dream becomes a reality

By
Reading Time: 10 minutes Is it still possible to start farming from scratch? “If scratch means no farm assets and a good work ethic with a passion for agriculture, yes it can be done,” says Elaine Froese, farm succession coach from Boissevain, Man. But how? Especially when the capital assets needed to be competitive have become so huge? Today, […] Read more
Melvin Penner of H&M Farms located near Altona, Manitoba.
Crops, Guide Business, Livestock

Bulletproof the farm

Extreme weather, volatile markets, government regulations, financial strains... The bullets are flying and they’re aimed straight at your farm. Here’s how Melvin Penner at H&M Farms is fighting back

By
Reading Time: 10 minutes Snow pelts the metal siding so hard it rattles, but inside the farm shop, it’s warm with work and energy. Lined up in various stages of maintenance are a truck, tractor and corn planter, while in the corner, pouring over their field maps, the three owners of H&M Farms near Altona, Man., discuss the upcoming […] Read more
First-born males used to benefit most on the family farm, but that kind of pecking order is fading fast.
Guide Business

Last of the first-born tradition

There’s less and less room for entitlement on today’s family farm

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes If you’re the first-born male, it used to mean you had won the lottery. You got to inherit the biggest share, you got to take over as boss, and you got to sit at the head of the family table. But today that kind of European hierarchy is quickly fading on the family farm. Except… […] Read more
woman in wheat field
Guide Life

Preparing women to be career farmers

Fifteen expert ideas for a better start to a woman’s career on the farm

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes As more women join the ranks of primary producers, they still find out there are some challenges working in an industry where they are in the minority. How can young women best prepare for a career as a farmer? How can their families help them. Country Guide asked a variety of experts from backgrounds as […] Read more
"It's a competitive industry. Money talks," says Katelyn Duncan
Guide Business

Young, smart & stubborn

Trend Setters: Katelyn Duncan says new farmers must face the core challenge

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes Fortunately, statistical trends don’t capture stubbornness, optimism and enthusiasm, necessary ingredients for farmers. Because the trends that the statistics do capture don’t make easy reading. Here we bring you two inspiring stories of young people meeting the challenge head on. But first, here are those statistics below, starting with some numbers from the 2011 Census of […] Read more
Guide Business

Is a family trust right for you?

A trust might be an efficient tool for protecting your farm business or for managing family issues at succession, but they aren’t for everyone

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes Family trusts are commonly used as a convenient way to own shares in a company and as a succession tool for commercial businesses, but they can also be incorporated into a family farm structure…depending on the circumstances. “A farm corporation may have at its disposal favourable tax rules that may allow it to achieve the […] Read more

Latest Market News

More Market News →