Reading Time: 3 minutes Since I was a kid, I was told to never put gas in a diesel engine. Have you ever done that? I admit that I did. The hardest part wasn’t the cleanup, the cost, or the inconvenience. The hardest part was admitting what I did. Owning this mistake took me down two very different roads. […] Read more
VIDEO: How to be the best leader for your farm
Summer Series: Being a leader isn’t just about a fancy business title. It’s about leading by example, inspiring and empowering those around you. How can you lead more intentionally on your farm?
VIDEO: Sharing your final wishes with family
Reading Time: < 1 minute Are you the child who knows more about what your parents have written in their wills? Are you worried that you’ll be the one left to explain your parents’ wishes to your siblings after your parents have died? If you want to avoid being the bearer of bad news, Patti Durand walks us through what […] Read more
How to talk about your farm succession estate plans
Summer Series: Estate planning is never easy — and more difficult still is the conversations you need to have with your family. But these conversations can be a great opportunity to teach the next generation about money, family relationships and how to make decisions together
Reading Time: 5 minutes You’ve worked hard your whole life and lived within your means. Now, you want your estate to help the future generation succeed — not create problems or heartache for your family. But if you want your estate to create a legacy of positivity, you’ll have to proactively communicate your wishes through an estate plan. Like […] Read more
Taming monsters: When farm succession rears its head
Summer Series: With today’s access to capital and cost of land, many farms have grown beyond the point of “built to sell.” What happens when infrastructure and land holdings are too big for an exit strategy?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Family farms were less complex when I was growing up and farming in the 1980s through the early 2000s. Decisions were made in thousands of dollars, not millions. Summers were spent at the lake, not in the cab of a sprayer. It was a great way of life, one that shaped my attitudes and behaviours. […] Read more
Editor’s Note: No pressure
Reading Time: 3 minutes What is your playbook going into this year’s crop? Not an easy question to answer right now, given the global trade turbulence. As Evan Shout writes in The Farmer’s Playbook, volatility is likely to be the most-used word in agriculture this year. But, he writes, it’s also during down times that some farmers are able […] Read more
Succession on the farm: Where to begin?
Summer Series: Thinking of farm transition as a short-term, quick deal that we must get right because we only get one chance can prevent us from even starting the process — and starting it off right
Reading Time: 3 minutes I recently polled farm managers about what big projects they were planning for this year. Half the respondents said succession was a priority; however, many indicated that they don’t know where to start. I look at it like this: if you’ve taken your child to the field, or they work alongside you, then you have […] Read more
Where to get Country Guide during a postal strike
Reading Time: < 1 minute Delivery of our magazine may be disrupted as of May 23 by the ongoing labour dispute between Canada Post and its unionized workers. Country Guide will continue to bring you the stories you’ve come to expect through our e-newsletter and digital editions while we wait for postal deliveries to be restored. Look to our e-newsletters […] Read more
VIDEO: Taking awkwardness out of farm family discussions
Reading Time: < 1 minute Country Guide and Patti Durand from Brightrack Consulting are excited to bring you AwkwardAg! Patti will be here all summer to answer your questions about those awkward family business conversations you’ve been meaning to have but are hesitant to start. She’ll offer tips and tricks for how to say the right thing, when to say it […] Read more
New ag minister named for Newfoundland and Labrador
Hogan appoints Labrador MHA Lisa Dempster to post
Reading Time: < 1 minute Lisa Dempster, the MHA for the southeastern Labrador riding of Cartwright-L'Anse au Clair, was sworn in on May 9 as the province's minister for fisheries, forestry and agriculture.
Sell the farm or save the family legacy?
Summer Series: The growing sophistication of farm operations is reshaping farm transitions. And the unprecedented challenges these legacy businesses face demand our immediate and strategic attention.
Reading Time: 4 minutes For generations, Canadian farms have been more than businesses. They are the backbone of our national food security and rural economic infrastructure. They are also living legacies, passed down through families with pride, hard work and an intimate connection to the land. The transformation of Canadian agriculture over the past few decades has been revolutionary. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
