Reading Time: < 1 minute What do the most successful farmers do that gives them the marketing edge? Marketing decisions are much like production decisions — doing many little things right improves yields. But there’s no denying the hard facts, some farmers are just better at it. Even so, they don’t think they do anything that other farmers can’t do […] Read more
COUNTRY GUIDE’S 8 STEPS TO BETTER MARKETING
Best-Sellers
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the world of commodity trading, timely, accurate information is crucial. So where do merchants get their information on price, analysis, outlook and strategies? “Every day we get so much to read,” says Elizabeth Armstrong, commodity trader for London Agricultural Commodities (LAC) in southwestern Ontario. “I breeze through 25 or 30 online newsletters every morning.” […] Read more
ARE YOU READY?
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Economists…. Greg Mason is managing director of Prairie Research Associates (PRA) and economics professor at the University of Manitoba. PRA is a leading consultant on ag policy and research for Ottawa and for provincial governments across the country. David Sparling is the first-ever ag business specialist at the Richard Ivey School of Business in […] Read more
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
Ontario’s Dairy Jewel
Reading Time: 11 minutes My father heaved great sighs as we drove along. In the seat beside him, I was a young girl accompanying her Dad to dairy cattle sales in Tavistock, in the heart of Ontario’s Oxford county, and already I knew that these were sighs mixed with admiration and jealousy. “Ohh,” he would say, “see the corn […] 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
First Move
Reading Time: < 1 minute Even inside Canada, it’s daunting to scout out new markets and new distribution channels for grains and oilseeds, let alone for perishable goods. Making the leap into another country merely multiplies the obstacles. Potentially, though, it can multiply the rewards too. So where do you turn for help to figure out if your brainwave is […] Read more
Management Accounting The Multiple-Member Family Farm
Reading Time: 6 minutes In 1980, with a degree in ag economics, an MBA and a dream job with a bank in Washington, Dick Wittman decided to start farming. His priorities had shifted to family and he saw an opportunity to start a three-way corporation with his brother and cousin. Today, he helps manage an 18,000-acre dryland farm with […] Read more
Farm Team
Reading Time: 5 minutes About 15 minutes outside Thunder Bay, Henry Staal and his brother Gary operate Sunshine Sod Farms. You might call it their own field of dreams. Or maybe it should be Canada’s field of dreams. The Staals’ father came to Canada from Holland in 1952, worked hard, saved, bought a farm in 1960, and then worked […] Read more
to manage your value chain better
Reading Time: < 1 minute In truth, few of us really even consider it. Despite all the talk about refocusing our businesses on the consumer, it s a tough sell. It already takes all our time to get as efficient as possible in the field and in the barn, plus looking after all the endless demands of farming, from working […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
