Reading Time: < 1 minute “Relieved,” says Jeff, and all the men nod their agreement when asked how it felt to have the succession plan and an executive structure completed. As the cousin, Jeff needed to sort out his role in the farm. “It was good to know what was expected of everyone,” he says. Unconsciously and collectively, all four […] Read more
A New Beginning
Making Leadership Pay
Reading Time: 9 minutes In a hotel ballroom in Saskatoon, farmers and farm advisors are listening to the speakers at a conference called Balancing the Bottom Line. The conference has been organized by the Farm Leadership Council, a wing of Viterra, Canada’s largest ag corporation. It’s also organized by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, a farm policy group […] Read more
Just like your seed and herbicides, there can be complex webs of self-interest and obscure agendas behind the leadership training you’re being encouraged to sign up for. Does it matter?
Reading Time: 2 minutes In a hotel ballroom in Saskatoon, farmers and farm advisors are listening to the speakers at a conference called Balancing the Bottom Line. The conference has been organized by the Farm Leadership Council, a wing of Viterra, Canada s largest ag corporation. It s also organized by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, a farm […] Read more
It’s What You Don’t Know…
Reading Time: 7 minutes We’re all tempted to roll our eyes and toss our hands in the air. All of us. This idea of self-assessment is so murky, after all. Or is it? While most of us weren’t watching, provincial agriculture ministries have designed tools that appear to address the “so what?” question plaguing assessment. In theory, by rating […] Read more
Schoolwork
Reading Time: 4 minutes It used to be that it was only the competition between farm jobs and city jobs that was so tough. Now, it’s also the competition within agriculture. As thousands more farmers get serious about retirement, many are choosing to hold onto the farm by hiring an employee to help with the long hours in spring […] Read more
Action Heroes Tips
Reading Time: 4 minutes Tip #1 Cap Your Floating-Rate Exposure To Your Level Of Equity Perhaps the central issue when pondering interest rates is the eternal question: fixed or floating? Floating rates can be very attractive, of course, but if an operation is carrying a significant amount of debt, floating rates pose a big risk that’s out of the […] Read more
A Farm of Her Own
Reading Time: 20 minutes “You’re supposed to stir the Crock-Pot.” After a quick hello, these are the first words out of my mouth when I meet Sarah Leguee. I’ve just come from the field where her parents are harvesting peas, and her mom has asked me to pass the vital message along. After all, no matter how crazy it […] Read more
Succession planning is the single biggest money management issue your family will ever face, but the way to get to the finish line is to focus on just one step at a time
Reading Time: 4 minutes The next decade will bring huge changes to the farm. thousands more farmers will reach their 60s and beyond. they’ll wrestle with issues of who will take over the farm, when it will happen and what the process might look like. they’ll fret over how to be fair to all their children, and how to […] Read more
1. SET CLEAR GOALS
Reading Time: 3 minutes “Marketing isn’t the act of selling, it’s the act of knowing,” says Jerry Bouma of Toma & Bouma Management Consultants, Edmonton. “That includes understanding the markets — and your own strategies.” It’s a mouthful, but the pros say it’s realistic. Setting acceptable prices may not be easy and it may not seem like fun. But […] Read more
Growing Better
Reading Time: 2 minutes “ We make our development program relevant both to our employees and to where we are going as a business,” says DuPont’s Doris Steimel. ”We don’t just tick boxes, we think it through.” If you work for DuPont, you know what it takes for the company to succeed. You can read all about it — […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
