Reading Time: 3 minutes Across the U.S., the title “Accredited Farm Manager” is among the country’s fastest growing professional designations, driven by the surge not just in rental acres but also in absentee landowners and in non-ag investors. The question is, are we going to see more farms run by professional managers in Canada too? In fact, the farm-manager […] Read more
Farm managers take to the field (2)
Professional farm managers control huge acres south of the border. Are they coming to Canada too?
A woman’s voice at the money table
More women own farms and have key management roles running them. So why are women still ignored when the talk turns to finance?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Heather Little farms with her husband in Amaranth, Ont., and is a realtor with Royal LePage. She recalls the treatment she received from lenders when she bought her first farm with her husband nearly 20 years ago, a time when the lenders she dealt with were predominately older males and insisted they deal with her […] Read more
HR ideas right for 2023
Six progressive strategies to attract — and retain — the employees you need
Reading Time: 5 minutes Faced with a deepening labour shortage, farm businesses that tailor their jobs, their benefit packages and their work environments to what employees are seeking can expect more success and their choice of the best employees. The question is: is that a realistic goal? Clearly, the nature of farming does impose limitations on what can be […] Read more
Realizing the good idea
Everyone wants a chance to do something good for their community. How do you make that happen? Here is FMC’s plan
Reading Time: 5 minutes Countless surveys show the same results. The world has changed. In today’s post-Covid-19 times, we all want more. Or, to put it more accurately, we all want to do more. If you aren’t keeping up on the field called corporate responsibility it might be a good time for a long, hard look in the mirror. […] Read more
Making the farm less dangerous, step by step
Check out what these two farms did after they decided the old approach to safety on the farm is too weak, and sticking with it only makes it worse
Reading Time: 10 minutes For most of us, the sight of just one accident is all it takes to get us taking more reasonable precautions. So, imagine you are Krista Harris and you have seen what she has seen. As a career firefighter with over 20 years service with the Abbotsford Fire Department, Harris has attended innumerable motor vehicle […] Read more
Elevating the farm business
It’s the story of Canada’s young farmers. Crucial decisions at the start of their farm careers have enabled Michelle and Nick Hoffsuemmer to make even bigger decisions later on
Reading Time: 7 minutes Like other farmers who market and deliver their own grain, Nick Hoffsuemmer always knew a lot about contracts, delivery requirements, discounts, grades and all the assorted things that most farmers who sell their crops to the local elevator get to know. But Hoffsuemmer didn’t expect to end up getting into the elevator business. When he […] Read more
Farm managers take to the field
Huge chunks of American farmland are getting farmed by professional, accredited managers who work for families who don’t want to farm anymore, but also don’t want to sell
Reading Time: 6 minutes Professional farm management is serious business south of the border. Now, based on today’s trendlines, most insiders are predicting it’s only going to grow and spread. Will it grow in Canada too? Country Guide will look into that question in our next issue, but it’s worth pointing out that the share of farmland that’s rented […] Read more
In search of the next big idea
How would you know if there’s an option out there that is just right for your farm?
Reading Time: 3 minutes When somebody wants to sell you something, they have to talk it up. That’s fair. Everyone knows it’s a basic business principle. They also know the importance of buyer beware. Today, though, there just seems to be so much hype around, especially if you’re talking new ideas for differentiating what your farm produces. It can […] Read more
How to become the partner everyone wants to work with
On today’s larger farms, the partners are up close. They’re your relatives. They farm out of the same yard. Shouldn’t they recognize what you bring to the farm? Maybe not, says cross-border farm advisor Andy Junkin
Reading Time: 3 minutes Maybe your partner is your parent, in-law, sibling, cousin or friend. It doesn’t matter. At some point, says advisor Andy Junkin, there is bound to be tension in the relationship. In fact, if you dig into any farm, that kind of tension is something you’re bound to see, which explains why he calls his service […] Read more
Win, win, win
These companies have found the recipe. What ideas can you borrow?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Like clockwork every May there are big headlines and even bigger press releases from the winners when Deloitte Canada releases its list of the country’s best managed companies. Deloitte’s accolade has to be earned. It takes more than a healthy bottom line. Businesses have to be robust, and resilient. To sort the winners from the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
