Reading Time: 4 minutes If commodity agriculture is all about scale and efficiency, Jim Pallister is the very meaning of success. After all, Pallister’s is one of Canada’s largest farms, a massive 15,000-acre operation based near Portage la Prairie, Man. In a region already known for supersized farms, Pallister’s is a giant. But it wasn’t always so. In fact, […] Read more
Mr. Big
Ready, Set, Jump-Shift
Reading Time: 10 minutes If you’re like me, you didn’t know you’ve already got some solid experience at jump-shifting. Instead, farmers simply went ahead and bought that line-up of no-till equipment and built that new barn, and then figured out how to use them to completely transform the way we farm. We jump-shifted. We just didn’t know that what […] 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
Meet The Family
Reading Time: 6 minutes Get past it. Many of us would rather jump off a cliff than sit through a family meeting. The mere thought is enough to make our flesh squirm. But the message from the experts is simple: The stakes in farming today are simply too big to gamble everyone’s future on your guesses about how your […] Read more
Are You Ready?? Cont – for Aug. 31, 2009
Reading Time: 3 minutes continued from previous story CAN I SURVIVE IF I DON T GET BIG? Yes. In fact, the time is ripe to develop a sustainable business plan for a small-to medium-sized farm, these economists say. The catch is, you ll need to get off the commodity treadmill. Kohl foresees three distinct categories of farms. On the […] Read more
Mr. Big Cont
Reading Time: 4 minutes continued from previous storyKirschenmann says& Until now, the projections that favour more big farms have all focused on the farms themselves. That, says Fred Kirschenmann, needs to change. Yes, when it comes to commodity production, big farms may win because of their economies of scale. And yes, new technologies might make it much easier to […] Read more
CMA FARMER
Reading Time: 10 minutes Why return to farming? Because, Renkema says his CMA training told him it’s a great opportunity. Certified management accountant and young farmer Gerald Renkema used his business skills to help him start farming four years ago. Today he manages his farm with his off-farm experience, and he plans for the future with the optimism of […] Read more
Finding The Right Advisors – for Apr. 14, 2009
Reading Time: 2 minutes Start with word-of-mouth when selecting farm advisors but insist on professionals with an ag backgound Liz Robertson Liz Robertson, executive director of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA), likes the idea of team meetings, which she thinks minimize the back-and-forth phone calls between professionals. Robertson says that opposing views arise in meetings that can […] Read more
Assets
Reading Time: < 1 minute It was as much luck as good planning that saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars when the Gregorys barn caught fire last July. Now they re warning other farmers to learn their lesson The 9,000 square-foot honey house and storage building that Paul Gregory and his brother Lee and their families owned as part […] Read more
It Was As Much Luck As Good Planning That Saved Them Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars When The Gregorys’ Barn Caught Fire Last July. Now They’re Warning Other Farmers To Learn Their Lesson
Reading Time: < 1 minute The 9,000 square-foot honey house and storage building that Paul Gregory and his brother Lee and their families owned as part of a farm and forage seed business near Fisher Branch, Man., burned to the ground July 15, 2008. Today, they consider themselves lucky. While the metal-clad building and all its contents were destroyed, nobody […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
