Reading Time: 6 minutes For decades, on-farm diversification has been talked about, ruminated on, spit at and swallowed whole. We’ve seen underdogs become successes, and we’ve also seen outrageous failures, even when they had big government backing. At the same time, economies of scale have propelled non-diversified farms to unbelievable sizes, backed by the five-year bull market in grains. […] Read more
The challenge of diversification
The odds that your diversification plan will succeed are just one in five. But you can stack the deck
Sharpen your pencils
It’s time for a hard look at your rental land. How much does it make sense to pay?
Reading Time: 5 minutes I know I’m not alone. the squeeze is on all across Canada, and everyone can point to sets of numbers like the ones I’m looking at in Ontario, with a short 2014 growing season and with off-the-combine corn well below $4 per bushel. So Country Guide asked the Ontario ag ministry’s farm business analyst John […] Read more
Farm debt ratio in Canada could create an agricultural ‘bust’
Will history repeat itself, with a sell-off fuelled by farm debt?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Are we heading into another bust in agriculture, as happened in the late 1920s and in the 1980s? This is the fear of some farmers, and of some agricultural economists too. George Brinkman, professor emeritus at the University of Guelph, believes Canadian farmers are seriously over-leveraged and that there simply is not enough farm income […] Read more
Life insurance strategies for your farm
These 5 strategies can be serious winners -- but be prepared for some equally serious homework
Reading Time: 5 minutes If everything is tied up in fixed assets when a major change happens, even the best-managed farms can stumble and fall. Debts suddenly become unmanageable, family farms get bogged down in the mud of unachievable succession, and estates get devoured by tax liability. Setting up a rational way to deal with these situations ahead has […] Read more
Networking and the farm
In the first of two parts, networking expert Donna Messer explains why her work should matter to you
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you challenge yourself to describe a farmer in 10 words or less, before you’re halfway through, you’ll find yourself reaching for words like independent, autonomous and self-reliant. And no wonder. With all the risks and stresses of agriculture, farmers have earned the rights to that image of strength, resiliency and self-determination. But, as every […] Read more
When the SPCA comes knocking
Understanding your rights and duties
Reading Time: 3 minutes Recent media coverage of alleged abuse at Chilliwack Cattle Sales in B.C. has sparked questions about an owner’s obligations when dealing with animal abuse investigators. What are your rights and responsibilities when an investigator arrives at your doorstep? Inspector powers Animal cruelty is prohibited under the Criminal Code, which applies across Canada. In practice, most […] Read more
Meeting the customer’s need for farm equipment
New Holland veers away from corporate mega-dealers
Reading Time: 6 minutes When New Holland vice-president Abe Hughes spoke to a room full of farm media at the company’s North American headquarters in Pennsylvania in July, he wanted to talk about more than the shiny new iron parked outside. It was important, of course, to highlight the innovation in the brand’s 2015 equipment introductions, but Hughes also had […] Read more
Real-time financial management for farmers
Is it good, or too good to be true?
Reading Time: 5 minutes It sounds like a dream come true, placing current financial data at the fingertips of everyone involved in the farming enterprise so you can make better, more efficient on-the-spot decisions at critical crunch times. And it might not be a pipe dream any longer. “It’s just the way the world is working,” says Lance Stockbrugger, […] Read more
Family farm corporations on the rise
Depending on your farm objectives, building a trust into your corporation may be your best first step
Reading Time: 6 minutes The death of the family farm is widely bemoaned. Activists ask, “What do we really know about these corporations that produce our food?” As it turns out, it’s the same question that many farmers are asking themselves, although in a very different context. How can I be sure that my farm corporation is the best […] Read more
You want to fire Dad?
There's almost always a better solution, says our panel of experts. Try these strategies to get everyone living happily together again
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s a movie standard. When the mob turns angry, they start wielding pitchforks. Whether it’s a monster that incites them or an invading army, when the local population goes berserk, and when they suddenly get transformed into nightmarish creatures of violence, the first thing they reach for is the nearest farm implement. It’s a scene […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
