GFM Network News

More News →

Author Archives

Guide Business, Succession strategy

Family through succession: The Hunters create a future

The Hunter family is presented with three options for their farm transition

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes We continue our journey through succession with the Hunter Family as we focus on the transition and the details of what this phase of the process looks like for the family. Many of you have reached out to tell us you and your families are gaining a greater understanding since reading this series, which was […] Read more
Guide Business, Succession strategy

Family through succession: Moving succession to a financial discussion

As we look into concrete financial options, a sense of excitement replaces the family’s initial worries

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes Many of you have been following our journey with the Hunter family. To recap, the Hunters are a fourth-generation farm family with a mixed crop and dairy farm in southwestern Ontario. Mary’s husband Jack passed away two years ago. She is 80 now and continues to live on the farm. Her only child, Bruce, works […] Read more
Guide Business, Succession strategy

Family Through Succession: Aligning the Hunter family vision

"In the end, we all want the same thing,” Bruce says. “I just don’t see how we can make everyone happy.”

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes Last month, our first article introduced the Hunter family and their journey through farm succession. The Hunters aren’t a real family; you won’t find them in a phone book. But they are real in that they’re based on our real-life experience consulting with farm families. You’ll find families like the Hunters across the country. Through […] Read more
Guide Business, Succession strategy

Family Through Succession: Meet the Hunter family

One farm — seven individuals. Each with their own hopes, needs and ambitions. It’s a typically unique Canadian farm, just like yours. And yes, there is a way forward

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes In launching this series of columns on farm succession, our goal is to offer the readers of Country Guide something unique, something we feel you will be able to relate to and learn from. We want to introduce you to the Hunter family. Of course names will be changed to protect identities of our clients, […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

Creating a culture of participation on the farm

Participation is about more than just joining in. It’s about contributing in a meaningful, valuable way

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes “Participatory culture” is where this series of columns has led us. That’s because, at the end of the day, when we talk about continuous improvement, it’s not just about changing our business but also our behaviour. It’s about the older generation creating environments where the next generation feels comfortable sharing their opinions and making mistakes. […] Read more
A lack of communication can be a serious barrier in how to transition farms from one generation to the next.
Guide Business, Management

Continuous communication

There are three simple steps to establish a family business code of conduct

By
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a change in how families communicate today. I see the evidence in my daily work. You probably see it around the farm tables, in the barn, or with your accountant. Different discussions are happening now. Discussions are being driven by different players — sons-in-law, spouses, children — people coming into a farm family […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

Improving your farm today for tomorrow’s growth

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes When I am working with the most successful farm business families, there are some clear areas where they seem to focus their efforts. They understand the critical balance of work “on” the business and “in” the business. In preparing for this five-part series on how farmers today are continuously improving, one area that I kept […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

A professional approach to agriculture pays off

Continuous improvement is important in today’s farming community

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes We all know we are speaking to (and about) a different generation in today’s farming community. It’s a group that is rapidly growing in education, in financial knowledge and in their eagerness to do more, do it better and leave their legacy in the ag world. The idea at the centre of all of it […] Read more
The next generation of famers is ready to lead and show their skills using technologies that create opportunities for improvement.
Guide Business, Guide HR

A farmer’s appetite for learning

Continuous improvement: The next generation of farmers is ready to lead

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Today’s farmers are confident. They are finding their voices and they are finally becoming viewed as the powerhouses they are. Farmers are hungry to learn and they are also hungry to educate others. They are educating politicians, society and industry on the strength of their operations and on the economic contributions they make. Today’s farmers […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

Intuition: When it’s the right time for change

A leader needs to be prepared to offer opportunities for the next generation

By
Reading Time: 4 minutes The best leaders today seem to have a keen sense of when to make changes. They know when to share an example of their own struggle and when to motivate the next generation. It’s their gut instinct — that feeling we all get during times of decision-making. It’s the best leaders who know when to […] Read more

AgCanadaTV

AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending February 14, 2020.

Sponsored By:
More Videos →

Daily Newsletter

You'll receive current daily news every morning free, as well as market updates and special features.