Reading Time: 8 minutes Peer groups are quickly taking on a new life in Canadian agriculture. But these are different groups today, about as different from the coffee gang at your nearby Tim’s as the NHL is from the local old-timers’ league. There are still multiple types of these groups, focusing on financial or business management, perhaps, or succession, […] Read more
Finding the right peer group for you
The right peer group can be a great way to gain insight into your business numbers and your management options. But where do you find that ‘right’ group?
Building a farm succession plan for the whole family
Today there’s more opportunity than ever to write or tweak a succession plan to drive the success of your entire family. But there’s still a lot of opportunity for it to go off the rails too
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s been like a strain of Covid that attacks the farm business. It even started about the same time as the bug, ramping up in late 2020 when farmland values really began heating up. In fact, when you looked at the FCC graphs showing the spikes in land prices across Canada over the following months, […] Read more
How the farm succession landscape is changing
Eighty per cent of Annessa Good-Hassard’s clients come to her today wanting to gift or leave their farmland to non-farming children. And that may not be the biggest change in the new succession planning
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s no secret. Succession planning involves bringing in the experts. But that’s nothing new. Farm families have been calling in lawyers, accountants and business advisors to help with their transition planning for decades. But don’t try saying there’s nothing new about those advisors today. Or about what they’re bringing to more and more farms. It […] Read more
Farm succession fundamentals
Despite all the social media and all the press stories, when it comes to succession, you’re still in the driver’s seat
Reading Time: 5 minutes Sure, some of the dollars are bigger. Sometimes much, much bigger. And some of the emotions around the succession table are bigger too, possibly bigger than the farm may ever have seen. Even so, when business advisor Rob Foster sits down with new clients to start discussions about farm succession, he still begins the same […] Read more
The numbers you need to know when selling an agribusiness
Learn from an industry leader how to build and generate the total value of your farm. (Hint: it’s never only about the numbers)
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s not easy to sell a business that you’ve poured your heart and soul into. And selling an agribusiness isn’t as simple as selling a piece of equipment or land. Potential buyers must meet the owner’s criteria, often including that they must be a good bet to protect their legacy, which means they may also […] Read more
Information sharing on the family farm
Like it or not, it makes a lot of sense to get much more formal about who you show your business numbers to, and when
Reading Time: 5 minutes Affectionately, on the farm, it gets thought of as “the boardroom.” It’s the kitchen table, but the conversation around it isn’t always so affectionate, or so gentle. The kitchen table can also be host to plenty of uncomfortable questions and conversations, especially if the person asking the questions isn’t getting to see the numbers they […] Read more
The building blocks of farm finance
Reading Time: 3 minutes In my career as a farm CPA and CFO I’ve noticed some recurring themes. Balance sheets and consolidation are increasing, debt servicing and cash – flow are top issues, and assets and growth are becoming more expensive Typically, advisors, consultants and fractional CFOs are engaged at the top of what I refer to as the […] Read more
Having the right (business) stuff for your farm
For farmers like Jennifer Peart, upping their business game takes real discipline. The good news is the pay-off makes it very worthwhile
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s less true than it used to be but it’s still safe to say that few of today’s farmers got into farming because they love business management. Instead, it’s the production side of agriculture that drew them in. It was their passion for growing and raising food and working with soil, livestock and equipment. Still, […] Read more
Summer Series: Skills training that can make you a better farmer
[Make It Count] It’s a whole new world. For Jamie Christie, mid-career education means driving farm growth by adding skills no one used to think are needed on the farm. Which should be on the top of your list? And where to find them?
Reading Time: 9 minutes First, you could get process-minded about it. If you recognize it would pay to get serious about adding an education focus to your farm, there’s a logical way to get started. Make a list of the current skills that everyone involved in the operation has, then assess where there are knowledge gaps and training needs. […] Read more
Summer Series: Creating a positive culture
[Make it Count] Will creating a better workplace culture really improve your bottom line enough to justify all the buzz it’s getting?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sure, a positive workplace culture can make your farm a more enjoyable place to work, and who doesn’t want a few more smiles in their day? But will a better workplace culture really improve your bottom line? According to a growing body of psychological research, the answer is a clear “yes.” The new science says […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
