Reading Time: 8 minutes It’s the world’s largest combined indoor agricultural and equestrian show — an incredible celebration of harvest time, animal husbandry and equine prowess. And on November 1, when “Country Comes to the City” opens for its 97th year, one of the questions in the air will be how this fair has managed to not only survive […] Read more
Royal Agricultural Winter Fair celebrates tradition, and evolves with the times
How does the 97-year-old fair keep attracting 300,000 a year? By sticking to core strategy, and keeping it new
Why Kubota thinks you’ll buy more of its farm equipment
The Texas-based manufacturer sees both end-users and retail dealers as its customers
Reading Time: 5 minutes As I walked through Kubota’s new headquarters in Grapevine, Texas, one particular observation stood out to me. In other companies’ offices and engineering centres that I’ve visited, there was never any shortage of images of the brand’s machines lining the hallway walls. The offices in the Kubota building were stylish and comfortable with plenty of […] Read more
On board at WestGen
The unique co-op celebrates its 75th anniversary by focusing on its farm board’s “direct and protect” role
Reading Time: 7 minutes WestGen began life in Surrey, B.C in September 1944 under the moniker of the Lower Fraser Valley Artificial Insemination Association, and in many ways it’s the same group that currently operates out of Abbotsford, B.C., despite a litany of name and location changes over the years. Over those years, too, the co-operative-minded group has become […] Read more
AgriProfit$ helping beef up Alberta’s farm sector
An on-farm look at Alberta’s program for harnessing multi-year farm business analysis
Reading Time: 8 minutes There’s one word that gets used by the farmers Country Guide interviewed after taking part in Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s free AgriProfit$ farm business management research program. It’s “invaluable.” Sean and Tanya McGrath at Vermilion have participated in AgriProfit$ for 10 years; John Mochniuk at Wildwood has participated for 20. But before we hear their […] Read more
Having farm meetings that work
These strategies can make family meetings a core part of your farm culture
Reading Time: 5 minutes We’re too busy.” If that’s your reason for putting off holding family business meetings on your farm, you’re not alone.Agricultural business advisors hear their clients say it time and again to explain why they haven’t started holding farm meetings. Except as excuses go, this one doesn’t really hold water. Too often, in fact, it’s a […] Read more
Calculating a fairer, smarter farm inheritance: Part One
Can an estate plan be fair both to the family and to the farm business? Merle Good and Greg Gartner see a way forward
Reading Time: 6 minutes I’m supposed to ask the questions, but Merle Good, Alberta farm business advisor and nationally followed succession expert shoots a question my way before I get a chance. “Suppose you could open all the wills of today’s farmers,” he says. “How many are leaving land to off-farm children?” I expect the number is big — […] Read more
Auger-steer invention drives farm family’s business success
Diversifying into manufacturing creates more opportunity for the Toews family, but there have been many lessons along the way
Reading Time: 12 minutes It was 2008 and things just weren’t working out for Bernie Toews. From his tractor cab, he’d tried again and again to manoeuvre an auger around a tight corner on the family farm near MacGregor, an hour and a half west of Winnipeg, and it just wasn’t going to happen. Now, Toews was backing the […] Read more
Become a farm CEO: Why make the shift?
Executive-level behaviour is good for both the farm and farmer
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s time that farmers develop beyond being the world-class farm managers they are today. That’s the vibe I’m getting from clients, program participants and industry professionals. The conversation around what abilities Canadian farmers need to develop, and how they should acquire them, is already underway. If a farmer is successfully operating his or her business, […] Read more
Boost the survival odds of your farm
Farm finance expert David Kohl reflects on what farms — both small and large — must do for success in the 2020s and beyond
Reading Time: 6 minutes We all know the basics of health: Get exercise, watch our weight, don’t smoke. But for better health success over the long term, we know we can go further. We should get regular checkups, eat more vegetables, nurture our personal relationships, maintain good sleeping habits and more. Similarly, we know the basics of farm business […] Read more
Family Through Succession: Meet the Hunter family
One farm — seven individuals. Each with their own hopes, needs and ambitions. It’s a typically unique Canadian farm, just like yours. And yes, there is a way forward
Reading Time: 6 minutes In launching this series of columns on farm succession, our goal is to offer the readers of Country Guide something unique, something we feel you will be able to relate to and learn from. We want to introduce you to the Hunter family. Of course names will be changed to protect identities of our clients, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
