Reading Time: 6 minutes Why does your farm need a vision? To Jeannette French and her husband Brian, co-owners of Lennox Farms in Melancthon, Ont., the answer is simple. “No matter your farm size, a vision is something that drives you every day. It’s born from your values and is the backbone of what you believe.” Six years ago, […] Read more
A guide for farm growth
Vision statements are more common on today’s farms. How can creating one help you?
How farmers can thrive in retirement
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to retirement and planning ahead makes it much more enjoyable
Reading Time: 5 minutes For many farmers, being a farmer is part of their fundamental nature. It’s who they are and they can’t imagine a time when they won’t be a farmer. Who hasn’t heard a farmer say they want to die farming? But the reality is that many farmers will need to exit the business whether they want […] Read more
Planning for retirement: Lifestyle versus finances
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers might not think about retirement often, if ever. But the sooner you start to think about retiring, you can minimize the impact of the adjustment when the time comes. A retirement plan should be part of the conversation when creating a succession plan. The emphasis of succession planning is typically on transferring the business […] Read more
Navigating transitions in career, family and the farm
Moving through life’s phases can be difficult, but the journey — and the lessons — make it all worthwhile
Reading Time: 8 minutes “I thought my career was over.” Alanna Koch reminisces about her decision to quit her job as executive director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association to stay home with her kids full-time in 2000. “I thought it was the end of the world,” she says. Her role with the association followed years of public […] Read more
Starting succession right
If you’ve resolved to start transitioning the farm this year, these insights can help you get a strong start
Reading Time: 7 minutes It’s no secret that many farm and ranch operations facing the prospect of transition to the next generation feel stuck and unsure how to proceed. “We can’t emphasize enough that retirement is a significant life transition that comes with a rollercoaster of challenges and emotions,” write Robert Laura and Colleen Drummond in the Modern Elder […] Read more
Attracting the right kind of capital in agriculture
Capital is required to grow the farm business but sometimes it takes an innovative approach
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture’s future will rely on attracting capital. In the past, capital typically came from banks or family. But the changing demographic of farmers and farmland owners means that many farms and a tremendous amount of farmland will change hands over the coming decade. To add to the list of challenges, inflation and farmland appreciation has […] Read more
Research on the farm
After observing higher yield in some fields, an agronomist worked with a farmer client to set up a trial that yielded practical results
Reading Time: 8 minutes On-farm research is one of those things that sounds great in theory, especially with the technology at hand today. But how can agronomists and farmers reap results they can use, and count on? Saskatchewan crop consultant Mike Palmier offers one case study. Working with a farming client, he’s found that leaving taller crop stubble in […] Read more
The math checks out
A theory once applied to cycling can help your farm make big gains
Reading Time: 10 minutes What happens if you squeeze a few extra drops out of an orange while making juice? One small extra sip, of course. But what if you squeezed out a few extra drops from 1,000 oranges? You’d get a lot more orange juice at no extra cost. Could the same be true of food production? Why […] Read more
Balancing the ups and downs of raising sheep
The ups and downs of raising sheep can be balanced by a supportive network and shared knowledge
Reading Time: 7 minutes Carla and Tyrone Borsa had already put a lot of research into their Rosthern, Sask., sheep operation even before the first set of cloven hooves hit the pasture in 2022. Almost three years later, that focus on quality sheep production has netted twenty-five mature Dorset ewes and two Canadian Arcott rams. And although the Borsas […] Read more
How these Canadian farms thrive
Like a roadmap, these farms are setting goals to make sure they end up at the right destination
Reading Time: 8 minutes Every January business partners DJ Wassenaar and Matt Bergman take a day to set goals for the coming year. It’s a practice that’s proven successful for their partnership and an integral part of their planning process. “We always need something to aim for, and whether the goal is attainable or not, giving ourselves a direction […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
