Proudly Canadian
If your business plan is gathering dust, here’s how to put it into action
Farmers can’t wait 10 years to build a workforce. In this first of a two-part series, we look at why the need is so urgent
Are you actually as good a negotiator as you think?
The lack of succession planning helps explain why so many co-ops are being sold, and why even more are in danger
Greenhouses may not belong in the traditional farm stereotype, but Chris and Crystal Page reflect a new era of young farmers diversifying for business, and for the challenge too
For some farms, there are big wins when the next generation gets work experience off the farm before coming back home
In turbulent times, your family brand can be the foundation for business success… like when Jim Hole and brother Bill decided to take the farm in directions no one had anticipated
Marketing experts say your farm already has a brand, and regardless of whether you give it a moment’s thought, and regardless of whether you try to manage it, that brand is your farm’s identity. It’s how you are perceived. Indeed, the people who devote their careers to thinking about these things have an even simpler way of making their point: Your farm is your brand. For most farms, your brand is conveyed by your last name — a reputation shaped and seasoned by multiple generations. The question is, can you manage your brand to give a boost to your farm business? In the case of Alberta brothers Jim and Bill Hole, their greenhouse business has been built on a brand of trust garnered by their much-loved mother. Today, the brothers’ challenge is to leverage that brand in order to build sales among time-stretched, next-gen customers. Here’s how they plan to do just that.
Reading Time: 6 minutes Winter is disappearing in a swirl of warmth and sunshine in St. Albert, on the northwest edge of Edmonton. Airseeders are poised about the countryside, and calves are nuzzling their mothers. This is the kind of day when Canadians rediscover that their heritage rises from the soil, thanks to the sweat of farm families. Across […] Read more
Canada’s next generation of farmers are smart, ambitious — and trapped on small acreages
Canada has enormous potential to increase irrigation in Saskatchewan. So why is so little happening?
There's almost always a better solution, says our panel of experts. Try these strategies to get everyone living happily together again
