Reading Time: 7 minutes Here’s an unpopular question. When are you going to retire from the farm? This is often a taboo topic because it’s hard to know when you’ll be ready, and just as hard, if not harder, to know what it means to retire. To a farmer, retirement could read like a death sentence. Or does it […] Read more
The way to retire
Especially on the farm, planning for a happy retirement really does a make a difference
Have a decade-long plan for farm succession
Every farm has at least 10 jobs that take 10 years to learn. No wonder transitions are so complicated
Reading Time: 8 minutes Whatever word you use — whether you call it wisdom or if you think of it as insight — it may always be essential for running any farm but it is doubly important during transition. That’s “doubly” for a good reason, because not only does the senior generation need insight into the transition process if […] Read more
Bold strides through new ventures
A five-part series featuring farm families leading change through bold decisions on farm planning, new ventures, revenue diversification, innovation and business operations. In this instalment, the Woodley family, owners and operators of Woodley Farm and Greenhouses in Boston, Ont.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Barry and Christine Woodley have faced tough business decisions throughout their farm careers. Today’s challenge is a new one, though, and it requires a bold new level of trust in their family team. The Woodleys own and operate Woodley Farm and Greenhouses, and over the past 30 years they have used it to develop their […] Read more
A new path to the farm’s future
Today’s farm families think in terms of transition, not succession, and they’re setting new goal posts too
Reading Time: 8 minutes The questions may be the same, but the tone has changed, says Kent Gulash, longtime farm family coach from Saskatoon. When families meet their transition advisors these days, they’re coming from a different place. “That’s because the dynamics around the value of farms have changed,” Gulash says. There’s trepidation now, he explains. Will the farm’s […] Read more
Young and bankable
Are you in your teens or 20s, and want to farm? It’s time to show you’re ready for the discipline of financial management
Reading Time: 4 minutes Growing numbers of family farms across Canada have started on the transition journey. They’re actively working at creating pathways that will give the next generation their shot at calling themselves farmers. For tons of these hopeful farmers, though, there’s a big question. How can they become bankable? Sure, Mom and Dad may think they are […] Read more
Bold Strides: Through efficient family-based planning
The first in our five-part “Bold Strides” series on farm families that are committing to big thinking through family planning, new ventures, revenue diversification, innovation and business operations. THIS MONTH: the Griffioen family, owners and operators of Vrederijk Dairy in Tavistock, Ontario
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since immigrating from Holland in 1997, Dirk and Karin Griffioen have continuously expanded their farming operation. Today, on a land base of 400 acres, the dairy milks over 140 cows with a robotic milking system. Now, after two decades of building, Dirk and Karin are looking to the future and for the best ways to […] Read more
Planning to grow your farm?
These eight steps led to success for a U.S. family that talks in terms of its great, great grandchildren
Reading Time: 10 minutes It was 1985 and Jerry Lorenzen wondered whether what he was looking at was an opportunity. Lorenzen was working as an animal feed salesperson in the U.S. Midwest, so every day he was driving past crops that were getting grown to feed livestock. And he had a question. With spiralling population growth, won’t we need […] Read more
On-boarding the kids
This summer is a great time to ask the next generation some smart questions
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s an all-too-common scenario. The farm family sits down together around the kitchen table. It’s time to talk. Maybe you could even call it a meeting. Grandpa thinks it’s a bunch of hooey. No one ever had to sit and talk for hours in his day. If the kids had enough work to do, we […] Read more
Deciding on a charitable giving plan
Donation, bequest, endowment? Farm families can achieve a huge amount of good with their generosity, but be sure to plan it carefully
Reading Time: 6 minutes As more farm families get further into their transition and succession planning, charitable giving is becoming a critical part for many to incorporate into their plans. On more and more farms, in fact, questions surrounding meaningful donations and how to create impact are becoming cornerstone conversations for the family. “Farmers are deeply rooted in their […] Read more
Joint venturers
Joint ventures rarely get used in today’s farm succession plans. These two producers call that a major missed opportunity
Reading Time: 11 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 22, 2022] Doyle Wiebe expects to do a lot more golfing this summer than he did eight years ago, and he’s managing to find time for a lot of other activities too, like mentoring and consulting, that he much prefers over driving a tractor for hours at a time. In 2014, by contrast, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
