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Management

Labour is a growing input cost and farmers need to pay more attention to it.
Guide Business, Management

Gauging employee productivity

Sure, your employees seem busy enough. But are they productive? Better yet, can you improve their productivity?

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Of course farmers have an excellent grasp of their input costs. As in any business, the lower the costs, the better the bottom line, so farmers are constantly experimenting with different fertilizer rates, seeding rates, equipment strategies and so much more. And for everything they do, farmers track what it costs, what it produces and […] Read more
Women are very effective at bringing people together and bringing out the best in individuals.
Guide Business, Management

Farm CEO: Women farm executives

“Women are showing up in business, and what they are doing is working. It should be seen as a model for all of us.”

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Women make great farm CEOs. Did you hear that, Dad? Studies are showing that women have a lot to offer as executive decision-makers, and the reason why has some lessons to teach agriculture about what are the most valuable professional competencies needed on the farm, and why. What does the research say? One global study […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

Setting up your new peer group

Peer groups are driving the performance of more farms across the country. How do you get started

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Every farmer gains deep perspective and a wealth of insight during their career. It’s knowledge that comes from personal experience, family and advice from trusted advisors. And, of course, farmers are also adept at learning from each other. This latter takes place over the fence, but it is also structured, with a long history of […] Read more
In the not-too-distant future, a farmer’s job will be more about managing data than managing soil.
Guide Business, Management

Farming in 2030: Big data

The last time there was a change this big in farming, it was mechanization. The question is: are you open to exploring how it can work for you?

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Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve got a cell phone anywhere close to you as you read this, you’re part of the data revolution in agriculture, whether you realize it or not, and whether you want to be or not. That’s probably a good thing. Certainly, the potential benefits are amazing. “The smartphone is going to be one of […] Read more
Finding people you trust in order to build good working relationships doesn’t happen overnight, so start building your team as soon as possible.
Guide Business, Management

Want a super farm business? Build your ‘superteam’

Top tips from the frontline on creating and optimizing a business management team for your farm

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Reading Time: 6 minutes The words can be heard all across the country. “Our accountant, lawyer and bank manager are key players in decision-making on our farm,” says Luanne Lynn, who is currently past president of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Program (she and husband Philip were Outstanding Young Farmers in 2005). The Lynns have a cash crop operation in […] Read more
Allowing an employee to decide how to complete a task is part of having autonomy.
Guide Business, Management

Farm CEO: Develop leaders, not labourers

Allowing people to safely struggle is good. Let them know you are there for support, but they’re expected to figure it out and get it done

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Part of having an executive mindset on the farm is developing others. Developing others might seem like a basic function of management, which it is, but I want to emphasize that I’m not just talking about teaching basic farm skills but actually developing people’s judgment and ability to make good decisions independently — to effectively […] Read more
Guide Business, Management

Farming in 2030: Managing risk

Innovative insurance companies reveal how on-farm data is leading to next-generation policies that increase liquidity and profitability

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Reading Time: 6 minutes As farming gets ever more expensive and as margins get tighter, there’s less room for error, which means the need for risk management isn’t going away in the next 10 years. What will change, though, is the type of insurance products farmers will be able to buy, with innovations driven primarily by technology and by […] Read more
Terry and father Harry Aberhart find their advisory team widens their management options.
Guide Business, Management

A farm advisory team that works — for you

Advisors can help take the emotion out of business decisions

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Reading Time: 8 minutes A few years ago, Harvey Aberhart came to a family farm meeting looking stressed out. Like many farmers across the country, he wanted the family to find their way to a healthy, forward-looking succession plan, but the night before the meeting, he had been kept up all through the early hours by thoughts of a […] Read more
Knowing exactly where you’re starting from, and with what resources, leads to more efficient decision-making.
Guide Business, Management

Introducing next steps into your farm operation

Next Steps: Consider a situational analysis in order to set goals for your farm

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Reading Time: 9 minutes Stories in Country Guide often explore the latest, the most innovative and sometimes the boldest in on-farm business management strategies across Canada. These stories are inspirational, aspirational, thought-provoking — but not always accessible for every farmer. In this new series ‘Next Steps,’ we focus on continuous improvement; the proven practices, the processes and sometimes just […] Read more
Even in this digital era, it's still important to build a good relationship between you and your advisor.
Guide Business, Management

Get more from your farm advisors

Boost the returns from your investment in advisors’ fees with these tactics

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Hiring business advisors and consultants is becoming a top habit on Canada’s most profitable farms, as identified in Farm Management Canada’s Dollars and Sense study. Whether it’s in accounting, law, human resources, succession planning, agronomy, livestock nutrition, communications or marketing, advisors are filling in the gaps in the farm team’s expertise. It turns out, though, […] Read more

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AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending March 27, 2020.

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