Reading Time: < 1 minute It comes down to bucks per acre, say Luke Carnaghan (R.) and Steve Grove. Farming today has to be about increasing their income per acre instead of continually increasing their acres It s a crisp mid-winter morning and we re talking in the shop, but the discussion isn t about commodity prices and it isn […] Read more
‘ Bucking’ the Roundup Ready trend
Pre-inoculant Choices
Reading Time: 2 minutes In November, our farm ordered a few bags of pre-inoculated soybean seed to try. Harold, our local seed dealer, said the long-lasting pre-coated inoculation is new this year. What is this stuff and is it worth the extra cost? If you re one of the 60 per cent of Ontario soybean growers who inoculated your […] Read more
the building box
Reading Time: 2 minutes The reasons why we compromise on buildings are almost too obvious to mention. There’s the expense, for starters, plus the “we can make this work” resourcefulness that we take pride in as farmers, and of course there’s also the way we inherit so many buildings when our landbase expands. Yet Brian Holmes thinks he knows […] Read more
Here’s what Jim and Phillip Callaghan experienced — and what they learned — when they took a business approach to their farm expansion
Reading Time: 2 minutes Their goal was clear, just as it is on many farms across Canada. With growing families, brothers Jim and Phillip Callaghan needed to expand their Peterborough, Ont. home farm to generate additional income. In this case, the Callaghans are dairy farmers, so it made most sense to them to double their milk herd to 300 […] Read more
With a university degree zooming past $80,000, the fourth ‘R’ — a Registered Education Savings Plan — can be the smartest move of all for you, your children and grandchildren, and your farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes The key is to create saving strategies that work for your farm and your family Sometimes the choices seem easy, like saying “no” to registered education savings plans. When you’re young, the mortgage looms so large. If there is any spare cash, registered retirement savings plans at least are tax deductible. Tucking scarce dollars into […] Read more
Taking a swing at diversification
Reading Time: 2 minutes I want to be a small producer with a big margin — Fred Archibald “Giving it a shot is the safest strategy in business,” Fred Archibald says. “Sitting still takes nerve.” In 1968, when Fred’s father planted his first 40 acres of apple orchard just north of Lake Ontario at Bowmanville, he could never have […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
