Reading Time: 11 minutes At his financial office in Stettler, Alta., Peter Boys reaches for stark language to make his point. “Slavery is alive and well on farms in the Prairies,” Boys says. Boys is referring to the practice of farmers not paying equitable wages to their children working on their farms, often under the promise of future ownership… […] Read more
Cleaning up sweat equity
It used to show you were committed to farming. Now it’s a dangerous source of controversy on more Canadian farms
Getting onboard with your employees
The most valuable time you spend with any employee may be their first few hours on the job
Reading Time: 5 minutes Whew! After months of advertising, searching and interviewing, you’ve finally found and hired someone to help on your farm. As processes go, this one has been stressful, time-consuming, and more than a little frustrating. Nor is that surprising. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council found in 2014 that our farms have a job vacancy rate […] Read more
Lessons from a non-family farm succession
For Lauchie and Jolene MacEachern, a seven-year dream becomes a reality
Reading Time: 10 minutes Is it still possible to start farming from scratch? “If scratch means no farm assets and a good work ethic with a passion for agriculture, yes it can be done,” says Elaine Froese, farm succession coach from Boissevain, Man. But how? Especially when the capital assets needed to be competitive have become so huge? Today, […] Read more
What will the TPP mean for your farm?
AME Management: Overall, Canadian farmers get increased market access from TPP, plus better dispute settlement
Reading Time: 3 minutes The October 2015 Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is a substantial trade treaty for its 12 members, and like other trade treaties, it will introduce concessions on market access, such as tariff reductions and increased import quotas, as discussed below. But there is also considerable focus on food safety regulations as well as on biotechnology […] Read more
The 5 per cent solution of farm management
On the Hebert farm, the momentum for growth is internal
Reading Time: 7 minutes In Saskatoon in mid-January, Kristjan Hebert was at the podium of a banquet room, telling the crowd of farmers something that farmers have said all through the generations. Hebert and his family want to build a legacy farm. “And our definition of legacy is extremely simple,” Hebert continued. “We want to leave the land and […] Read more
Use financial ratios to diagnose operational issues
AME Management: Different farms have different factors affecting their performance
Reading Time: 3 minutes The profit and loss statement provides three financial ratios that can help identify operational issues and set priorities in your operations plan. The ratios and their benchmarks are: The first and third columns define revenue/earnings and cost categories deducted from them on a standardized operating statement. The second and fourth are the resulting operating and […] Read more
Clear rules for using futures options
AME Management: Define your objectives for commodities pricing
Reading Time: 3 minutes Many farmers say hedging is too expensive. However, there is an approach that can provide both relatively cheap price insurance plus an opportunity to enhance revenue. It’s also an approach that creates an opportunity to separate and take advantage of market movement both on commodities and on currency. Options Buying a futures option is insurance: […] Read more
Your own HR scorecard
Guide Excellence: These tools can help you assess your skills and figure out what strengths you can build on, what skills you need to sharpen, and where you should hire help
Reading Time: 5 minutes There was a time when going up against your neighbours in a plowing match was the best and sometimes really the only way for farmers to assess their skill level. But that was then. Today, farm businesses have grown way more sophisticated and, although they still aren’t always easy to find, skills assessments have improved […] Read more
Farm management groups have benefits
This farm finds that belonging to a farm management group improves their decision-making, and reduces their stress
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alain Lavigne has belonged to a farm management group for 25 years and says he couldn’t imagine farming without it. “It puts the picture of the whole farm in front of you… it helps us evaluate our strengths and weaknesses,” says Lavigne, who farms with his family in Ontario, an hour east of Ottawa. “It […] Read more
Forty years of farming requires a spirit for change
It turns out that successful diversification depends on the mindset you bring to it
Reading Time: 5 minutes When Kevin Lisafeld was still a teenager, his mother, Evelyn, told him not to put all his eggs in one basket. That advice has served him well during a 40-year career as a farmer and businessman. But success doesn’t come from diversifying for the sake of diversification. Lisafeld has learned how to spot an opportunity, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
