Reading Time: 11 minutes Just making one of these moves would be a huge step for any farm, let alone both of them. First, the Haskett family switched their farm from hogs to goats. Then, years later, they pivoted their market strategy too, launching their own new brand. In this article, we dive deep into how the family made […] Read more
Summer Series: Pivot, and then pivot some more
[Change Management] Why would this family abandon mainline commodities, and then dig in even deeper
Summer Series: What are they thinking?
[Change Management] Like the Munn-Venns, those new small-acreage farmers down your road may have a surprisingly sophisticated approach to decision-making
Reading Time: 11 minutes This isn’t a typical Country Guide scenario. Three years ago, Karri and Trefor Munn-Venn saw a 25-acre vineyard in Quebec’s picturesque Outaouais region and they bought it lock, stock and barrel — despite having zero farming experience. For established farmers, it could look as if the Munn-Venns had turned their backs on sensible decision-making the […] Read more
Summer Series: Preparing a business plan for your farm
[Change Management] Whether the change you’re looking at is big or small, the experts insist a business plan will make it more successful
Reading Time: 5 minutes A business plan is like a road map for your farm. You can plan your route, set a destination and track progress. But without a map or a plan, how does a farm business owner know what success looks like? Or what you’re capable of achieving? And, most importantly, how do you decide which changes […] Read more
Summer Series: Their new family plan
[Change Management] With their direct-to-consumer venture, this farm is welcoming the next generation back home
Reading Time: 6 minutes For Nora Paulovich, as for farmers all across Canada, farm success means two big things. It means nurturing the land, and nurturing the family too, building and preserving the farm for future generations. And as on other farms, Paulovich and husband Bob Noble’s adult children see their parents’ dedication and it inspires them. They want […] Read more
Summer Series: Long-distance farming
[Change Management] For Michael Carter, when a family can make the right changes at home, their odds of success with expanding across provincial borders and hundreds of kms away go up and up
Reading Time: 9 minutes The idea sounds right for the times. If you can’t expand at home, either because land is so expensive or because there just isn’t any for sale, look further afield. Maybe two hours away, maybe four, maybe even in a different province and so far away you basically have to set up a whole new […] Read more
Summer Series: Manitoba couple reinvents their farm
[Change Management] What does it take to survive when you run into a production problem so serious it threatens your whole farm? The Hoffords were about to find out
Reading Time: 11 minutes At first, going organic seemed the perfect choice for Ryan and Amy Hofford, a young couple intent on taking over the family farm after the early passing of Ryan’s father. Organic had everything going for it. The young couple could cash-flow its low-input approach, they’d excel at its hands-on marketing and they’d be on a […] Read more
VIDEO: Summer Series: Greg Stamp and Sarah Stamp of Stamp Seeds
Reading Time: < 1 minute Second generation grain producers, Greg and Sarah Stamp, of Stamp Seeds & Stamp Farms from Enchant, Alta., were 2023 national winners of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers. Along with their family they operate Stamp Seeds and Stamp Farms in the Bow River Irrigation District. With 5,000 acres under irrigation and 2,000 acres of dryland farming, they produce pedigreed seed such as wheat, barley, […] Read more
Summer Series: Measuring success on the farm
[Change Management] We talk a lot about farm success. But how do we know if we’re getting there?
Reading Time: 6 minutes When asked to define “success,” most farmers will tell you it’s about more than money. Family often comes up. High yields and good soil health are top of mind too, and health, safety and employee relations can be as well. We know these non-financial factors are important. Still, when the farm team gathers at the […] Read more
Summer Series: Implementing changes that matter
[Change Management] Maybe there used to be one tried-and-true path to farm success. Today, for farmers like Craig and Jinel Ference, it’s about seeking new ideas and getting creative about how to integrate them
Reading Time: 12 minutes Right now, we’re focusing on streamlining, simplifying and making things more efficient,” Craig Ference says. “That’s kind of our next expansion … making what we have a lot better. Improving our production, our land and our cattle to get a better gross margin from our current asset base.” Yup, that’s a farmer. The same or […] Read more
Summer Series: The uneasy middle
[Change Management] Canada’s mid-sized farms are under pressure. But don’t write them off quite so fast — at least not all of them
Reading Time: 8 minutes Of course any story on what’s ahead for Canada’s mid-size farms is going to start with a forkful of numbers. And of course, if you’re a mid-size farmer, those numbers aren’t exactly a joy to read. Instead, let us reprint part of an email from our in-box at Country Guide, just one of the more […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
