Reading Time: 5 minutes It might not always be the investment that makes every farmer’s heart beat faster, or the key decision on every farm. But admit it, grain storage is usually the first thing you notice about a farmyard. Maybe they’re new super-sized steel bins, or lines of hopper-bottom bins, or older wooden sheds. And maybe they’re spread […] Read more
The Right Storage Decision
The day that Bruce and Sharon Vandenberg opted to outsource all their marketing is the day their farm really took off. Could the strategy work for you too? Outsourcing
Reading Time: 11 minutes It was the trickle of cars driving up their lane that first opened their eyes. If people wanted goat’s milk that badly, said Bruce and Sharon Vandenberg, maybe it wouldn’t be so totally loony to put a couple dozen does in their barn, just as a sideline while Sharon was home with their growing family. […] Read more
Principal with Interest If you farm in Canada, the odds are that you owe this man’s organization big money. “Big” as in enough to keep you awake some nights. But keep reading. Here’s where Greg Stewart is taking FCC next
Reading Time: 8 minutes At first, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person you owe $17 billion to. Sure, Farm Credit Canada’s national headquarters in Regina is a stunning, shimmering monument. And yes, Greg Stewart’s office here is pristine and elegant in a way you see only in the offices of top echelon executives. Stewart is also obviously […] Read more
The Difference It Makes
Reading Time: 7 minutes It wasn’t cheap. That’s what hits you first. When Heather Broughton signed up for the CTEAM program from the George Morris Centre five years ago it cost them $5,500, a big investment for an averaged-sized farm. After completing the course Heather and husband Greg thought it was so valuable they both signed up for the […] Read more
If you farm in Canada, the odds are that you owe this man’s organization big money. “Big” as in enough to keep you awake some nights. But keep reading. Here’s where Greg Stewart is taking FCC next
Reading Time: 2 minutes At first, he doesn t seem like the kind of person you owe $17 billion to. Sure, Farm Credit Canada s national headquarters in Regina is a stunning, shimmering monument. And yes, Greg Stewart s office here is pristine and elegant in a way you see only in the offices of top echelon executives. Stewart […] Read more
Bank On It
Reading Time: 12 minutes If it’s true that every farmer knows how easy it is for bankers to forget that there is a real person behind the account numbers, maybe the opposite is true too. Yes, there’s a new farmer. Today, the average farmer’s financial skills are miles beyond those of farmers 30 years ago. Our farms are more […] Read more
A Farm of Her Own
Reading Time: 20 minutes “You’re supposed to stir the Crock-Pot.” After a quick hello, these are the first words out of my mouth when I meet Sarah Leguee. I’ve just come from the field where her parents are harvesting peas, and her mom has asked me to pass the vital message along. After all, no matter how crazy it […] Read more
Fields Of Strife
Reading Time: 5 minutes Maybe you’re frustrated when your teenagers act like they’re above doing menial jobs. Or you may be miffed that your father won’t listen to you about new technology. Or maybe the way some of your workers balk at the extra hours during the busy season leaves you exasperated. Somehow, it seems the people you live […] Read more
5. COMMUNICATE WITH CUSTOMERS
Reading Time: 2 minutes Communicating regularly with buyers will make it easier when you go to sell. “Guys will call me, via cellphones, from the combine,” says Linda Feltz from Wallenstein Feed and Supply near Guelph, Ont. Farmers who make a point of keeping connected to market information and buyers seem to come out ahead. They know their cost […] Read more
6. INTEGRATE ON-FARM STORAGE
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm storage is a marketing tool. If it’s integrated into your marketing plan, it can increase net returns. If abused, it only adds cost. “On-farm storage allows farmers to separate delivery decisions from pricing decisions,” says Charlie Pearson, market analyst for Alberta Agriculture and Food. “It also allows farmers to make delivery and pricing decisions […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
