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Management

It took discipline to get there, but Mongeon and Dignard’s spreadsheet approach now allows them to tie their field management and financial management into each decision.
Guide Business, Management

Numbers drive dynamic decision-making

Jeannette Mongeon and Michel Dignard use spreadsheets to guide everyday decisions and to analyze and embrace change. It’s good for the farm, and it also keeps peace in the family

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Reading Time: 6 minutes This past spring, Michel Dignard carefully walked his saturated soybean fields, counting the thin, yellowing plants while some were still fully submerged in water. It was emotionally exhausting work, but at least Dignard and his wife Jeannette Mongeon knew what they would do next. They crunched the numbers. They added up the costs and yield […] Read more
Growing good leaders requires proper mentoring so they can gain the confidence and understanding needed to succeed.
Guide Business, Management

Seeing eye to eye

Part one in a five-part series on successful farm leadership

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Reading Time: 3 minutes There are shelves full of books and articles on leadership, yet it can still be a struggle to apply their principles on our farms and to decide who leads and how. Even so, today’s farmers must recognize that fewer than one third of family-owned businesses succeed to the next generation, and we must learn to […] Read more
Progress is best made not by trying to break bad habits, but rather by developing good habits.” — Larry Martin
Guide Business, Management

From planning to implementation

AME Management: Get into these management habits. They will help you develop the strategic objectives that will drive your farm where you want it to go, and then help you achieve real progress toward them

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Reading Time: 4 minutes In our past column, we reviewed the habits of successful agricultural managers. One habit is that successful managers don’t just do strategic and operational planning, they translate their plans into action — i.e. they have a process to implement the plan. Like most farmers, many CTEAM participants have had little experience or training in planning […] Read more
Hand going through the field
Guide Business, Management

Small SWOT, big ideas

Summer Business: This exercise to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be a best next step for smaller farms

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Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the last four years Ontario organic farmer and consultant David Cohlmeyer has completed over 20 business plans for smaller and medium-sized farms. But before doing a business plan, with updated budget, balance sheets, marketing plans and cash flow statements, Cohlmeyer works with the clients to do a SWOT analysis. “It’s a tool, a good […] Read more
Farmer Types on tablet computer with combine harvester in the background
Guide Business, Management

Build a learning farm

This summer, start your lifelong educational strategy

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Reading Time: 9 minutes Farmers always have their hands full, so it’s not always easy to think that signing up for a seminar, conference or training course is a wise investment or a good use of time. The business case, however, is pretty clearly in favour of doing just that. “If you look at it purely from an economist’s […] Read more
Piggy Bank and canadian dollars close up shot
Guide Business, Management

Stress tests for change

Here’s a quick way to keep your eye on your cash flow projections this summer to help you plan loan payments and expenses this fall

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Reading Time: 4 minutes Knowing how to read and understand financial statements is one of the first steps in assessing financial risk, helping you track how you’re doing compared to previous years (or against sector averages), and how any changes may have an impact on your bank account. From a financial perspective, stress testing can be the ultimate proactive […] Read more
Agricultural expert inspecting quality of ripe corn
Guide Business, Management

The inclusive, prosperous farm

Looking to boost your farm’s numbers? Bring a diverse work force to the job, and set them up to perform at their best

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Reading Time: 5 minutes As farm businesses grow and become more complex, farmers are recognizing the importance of harnessing the full potential of the farm’s human resources. This means creating an inclusive workplace where both male and female members of the team can thrive and help the farm business meet its goals. A diverse workforce, it turns out, will […] Read more
A better workplace for women
Guide Business, Management

A better workplace for women

In today’s tight labour markets, a workplace that attracts women employees may give your farm the edge you’re looking for

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Reading Time: 4 minutes With the farm labour shortage expected to go from bad to worse all across Canada, farms that can attract untapped communities of job seekers may have a big advantage. Which means women. Women are Canada’s largest under-utilized pool of potential farm employees. The numbers prove it. Women make up only 36 per cent of the […] Read more
angry girl holds up her hand to stop predator and end the cycle of abuse
Guide Business, Management

Sexual harassment: Is your farm at risk?

The short answer is “yes,” but here’s how you can reduce your risks with a harassment policy that helps prevent unacceptable behaviours and their consequences

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Reading Time: 5 minutes On the outside, everything seems wholesome and almost shiny. We run our family farms with respect and good will, focused on productivity and efficiency. In fact, as an industry, we’re so good at it, more farms are hiring non-family employees, and there’s increased gender and cultural diversity throughout the agricultural industry. That has got to […] Read more
Farmers like B.C.’s Chris Bodnar are becoming mentors in areas ranging from new crops to financial management. But in all those areas, Bodnar says, it’s essential that the personal fit is good, and the expectations are clear.
Guide Business, Management

The right mentor

More young farmers could get a career-expanding lift from a great mentor. Could that be you?

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Reading Time: 9 minutes As a lifelong farmer and accomplished entrepreneur, Alberta-based rancher and author Brenda Schoepp knows a thing or two about operating a thriving business. And it turns out she knows a thing or two about mentorship as well. As a mentor, what she understands is that success isn’t about giving young farmers the answers to their […] Read more

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