Reading Time: 5 minutes In 1991, Piet and Ina Bassa sold their dairy farm in Holland, packed up their family and headed to Canada, leaving not only Europe’s high costs but also its tough environmental regulations and manure quotas that made expansion almost impossible. Importantly, their sons, Jan and Kees, were keen to start farming, so the family bought […] Read more
Focusing on efficiency in dairy production
The good old days aren’t coming back, but the Bassas believe success is still possible for farms that focus from top to bottom on efficiency
Profitability and sustainability in the dairy business
Kevin MacLean wants consumers and politicians to know how valuable supply management is for Canada
Reading Time: 4 minutes For Kevin MacLean, the cost of quota is just part of being in a business he loves. “I’ve never seen quota as a risk. Just like you need land to crop, you need quota to dairy farm. It’s a long-term investment.” MacLean echoes a sentiment sometimes heard in country circles. There are two things you […] Read more
Agtech funds and where it’s investing
AVAC and Bioenterprise investments point to amazing opportunities to participate in technology that will revolutionize farming
Reading Time: 5 minutes The dollars are big, and they’re quickly getting bigger. An influx of capital is pouring into innovations all along the food value chain, from logistics and food processing to primary production. According to Agfunder, an online equity crowdfunding platform for agricultural technology, interest is accelerating, with 2014’s whole-year total of $2.36 billion getting matched in […] Read more
Manage your farm fleet
The trucking industry is adopting technology to ramp up its strategic fleet management. Is it time for farmers to get on board too?
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s standard now for truck companies to use GPS and sensors to track operations and vehicle maintenance from a central office. Driver performance gets recorded, efficiency gets analyzed and truck costs get scrutinized, not to mention all the stats that need to get pulled together for government paperwork in the transportation sector. On the farm, […] Read more
Lessons from a non-family farm succession
For Lauchie and Jolene MacEachern, a seven-year dream becomes a reality
Reading Time: 10 minutes Is it still possible to start farming from scratch? “If scratch means no farm assets and a good work ethic with a passion for agriculture, yes it can be done,” says Elaine Froese, farm succession coach from Boissevain, Man. But how? Especially when the capital assets needed to be competitive have become so huge? Today, […] Read more
Bulletproof the farm
Extreme weather, volatile markets, government regulations, financial strains... The bullets are flying and they’re aimed straight at your farm. Here’s how Melvin Penner at H&M Farms is fighting back
Reading Time: 10 minutes Snow pelts the metal siding so hard it rattles, but inside the farm shop, it’s warm with work and energy. Lined up in various stages of maintenance are a truck, tractor and corn planter, while in the corner, pouring over their field maps, the three owners of H&M Farms near Altona, Man., discuss the upcoming […] Read more
Young, smart & stubborn
Trend Setters: Katelyn Duncan says new farmers must face the core challenge
Reading Time: 5 minutes Fortunately, statistical trends don’t capture stubbornness, optimism and enthusiasm, necessary ingredients for farmers. Because the trends that the statistics do capture don’t make easy reading. Here we bring you two inspiring stories of young people meeting the challenge head on. But first, here are those statistics below, starting with some numbers from the 2011 Census of […] Read more
They’re bucking the trend
Trend Setters: Robyn McCallum and Ryan Taylor are making their own future
Reading Time: 5 minutes In their mid-20s, Ryan Taylor and his partner, Robyn McCallum, are about half the age of the average farmer in Canada. Not only that, they also started from scratch a few years ago, near Miramichi, N.B. The 2011 census found that in the Atlantic provinces, only 7.1 per cent of farmers were under 40 years […] Read more
Selling the farm
Inside the sale of a modern, diversified and complex family farm
Reading Time: 10 minutes Once you decide it’s time to retire from farming, there’s a pile of planning, strategy and communication to fork your way through. Here’s how one couple from Saskatchewan proactively approached the sale of their seed farm, and how they captured value beyond piecemeal selling of their hard assets. Warren and Carla Kaeding and Roger and […] Read more
Where are the workers needed on farms?
Nine per cent of on-farm jobs are unfilled. Employees are scarce, and it’s going to get worse
Reading Time: 2 minutes Traditionally, farms used family, friends and neighbours to supply labour. However, as family size and rural population has shrunk, and as the size of the average farm has increased, our reliance on hired employees has multiplied. Today, farms often employ and manage a handful of people, and it’s also not uncommon for those employees to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
