Reading Time: 8 minutes To be at the top of their game in the 2020s, today’s young and mid-career farmers must excel at growing crops and raising livestock. That’s hard enough, given all the new technologies that neither they nor their parents have ever seen. And that’s just a start. To secure their futures in a world with a […] Read more
The power of mentorship in agriculture
Mentorship is emerging as agriculture’s key strategy for keeping Canada a world-class place to farm. What could be in it for you?
Farm fit
Maybe the phrase “Standardized Financial Benchmarks for Canadian Farm Financial Statements” doesn’t instantly get your blood pumping. But read on. Could this be the tool that lets you control your future?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Like many others, Larry Martin is convinced that Canada’s agriculture is evolving far faster than anyone driving a few miles of country sideroad could guess. The scenery hasn’t changed. At least, it hasn’t been transformed. It’s still a patchwork of crisp farmsteads and open fields, and of barns and bins. But those who live here […] Read more
New hires
On Canada’s farms, the cost of all the work that can’t be done because there are no workers to do it is spinning out of control
Reading Time: 10 minutes Farmers around Carman, Man., know the small convenience store in the town called the Lite Stop Foods. They know they’ll find what they want there — a few groceries, the local newspaper, a snack to tide them over. It also happens to be where Murray Froebe found two very good employees for his farm. Froebe […] Read more
‘I didn’t sign up for this!’
The new AgriHR Toolkit from the national ag human resources council can help in heading off conflict before it happens
Reading Time: 4 minutes Many of us have heard it from a disgruntled employee or possibly a family member. Maybe, at some point in our lives, we have even said it ourselves. “I didn’t sign up for this!” Workers who aren’t the right fit for their job aren’t happy, and they seldom stick around. In fact, 80 per cent […] Read more
Creating the outward-looking business
AME management: Do you know the type of culture you want for your business?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Last month’s column addressed outward-looking versus inward-looking businesses. The idea sensitized me to watch other organizations (and to check myself!) to find evidence of one or the other. Often, the evidence is mixed. Three examples A hotel where we have hosted CTEAM for several years had the same three young guys providing support for the […] Read more
Outward-looking business
AME Management: It takes discipline, but an outward focus pays off in more business
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever been disappointed that people who work for you don’t take initiative to do what you want done? You don’t feel comfortable getting away for a week because things won’t get done the way they are supposed to? You and the generation ahead of or behind you have ongoing tension that stands in […] Read more
Leader development versus the quick fix
Management without leadership is like tightening a nut with no wrench on the bolt head
Reading Time: 4 minutes Every once in awhile I have a casual conversation that goes like this: “Leadership is nice (guess what comes next), but I have real problems right now, and I have to do something; I don’t have time for leader development, I’m busy.” In my view, we are all busy, but this sentiment is the verbal […] Read more
On offer
Two new transition services show how the advisory sector is evolving. How do your advisors compare?
Reading Time: 6 minutes When the words “transition process” come up, they often provoke a sigh or maybe even a shudder. Nor should anyone pretend that transitioning your farm business will be anything but a lengthy process, or that it won’t involve difficult conversations and decisions. But as always, if you’re equipped with the right tools and methods, the […] Read more
Ten ways to know if you’re partnership material
If it seems that you’re hearing more about farmers entering business partnerships of various kinds, you are right. And it isn’t just in your neighbourhood. It’s all across the country. Whether it’s a loose partnership with another farmer to share resources, or it’s a new venture operating from the farm, or even an off-farm business[...]
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Leader effectiveness meets the leader
Good leadership points you in the direction of building a successful business
Reading Time: 3 minutes I want to share what I’m noticing in small business these days in terms of leadership, and what I say to those who ask about leader effectiveness. First, I also want to say that I do not share client stories even with the names redacted. Agriculture is just too small, and my work with leaders[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
