Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever been disappointed that people who work for you don’t take initiative to do what you want done? You don’t feel comfortable getting away for a week because things won’t get done the way they are supposed to? You and the generation ahead of or behind you have ongoing tension that stands in […] Read more
Outward-looking business
AME Management: It takes discipline, but an outward focus pays off in more business
Family farms: Recognition + Appreciation > Return on Assets
AME Management: Keep track of good old-fashioned sweat equity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Income is important in a multi-generational farm business, but sometimes the key that actually unlocks a farm’s prosperity has more to do with long-term clarity and its members’ sense of opportunity. Therefore, if you are the second generation (SG), you must ask yourself: “Do I have a career path to ownership? Or am I just […] Read more
Beyond commodity agriculture: Business decisions for your farm
AME Management: Whatever approach you take, the aim should be to improve your bottom line
Reading Time: 4 minutes When commodity prices are on their way to finding a bottom, many producers look to change their business model away from commodity crop and livestock production. While this is not a new phenomenon, it is becoming a more important strategy as the traditional commodity strategy — i.e. to increase scale — becomes harder to execute. […] Read more
Entrepreneurial confidence – and how to get it
AME Management: Entrepreneurial confidence is a necessary quality in business
Reading Time: 4 minutes Business success is largely influenced by entrepreneurial confidence. It is one of the most consistent characteristics across businesses that succeed. Thriving entrepreneurs believe in themselves — their capabilities to learn, apply new knowledge and skills. They reach their desired objectives, and ultimately, realize their vision. In agriculture, where we are challenged with many uncertainties, it […] Read more
Is there a ‘best’ farm machinery strategy?
AME management: There is never a guarantee that, without the analysis, the right strategy can be forecast
Reading Time: 4 minutes Country Guide’s editor asked whether we see a trend in the machinery strategy of the farmers who take CTEAM, our management course. Behind this is the idea that their experiences may be of value to others. The reality is that many strategies exist, ranging from turning over the complement of equipment every year, to squeezing […] Read more
Which joint venture will work for you?
AME Management: Building a business structure that works for your farm
Reading Time: 6 minutes The whole world acknowledges the brilliance of Albert Einstein. He is famous for his discoveries about relativity and the pull of gravity, and for his equation E=mc2, which says that the increased relativistic mass (m) of a body times the speed of light squared (c 2) is equal to the kinetic energy (E) of that […] Read more
Using futures and options in uncertain times
AME Management: Every year has its unique events, but with this strategy, farmers can provide profit opportunities that an “ordinary” year simply wouldn’t make available
Reading Time: 4 minutes Already, 2017 has been a year of uncertainty due both to unpredictable weather and political patterns. (We won’t speculate on which is the less predictable!) Uncertainty breeds large amounts of price volatility. Many farmers argue that using futures and options is too hard and carries the risk of cash-flow drains. They prefer to use the […] Read more
From planning to implementation
AME Management: Get into these management habits. They will help you develop the strategic objectives that will drive your farm where you want it to go, and then help you achieve real progress toward them
Reading Time: 4 minutes In our past column, we reviewed the habits of successful agricultural managers. One habit is that successful managers don’t just do strategic and operational planning, they translate their plans into action — i.e. they have a process to implement the plan. Like most farmers, many CTEAM participants have had little experience or training in planning […] Read more
The value of learning
AME Management: Learning business management can contribute to self-esteem and confidence
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers sometimes wonder whether additional courses and learning are of great value after taking into account course fees, travel, sometimes hotels, and always valuable time away from your business. Peer pressure can add to the psychological cost if the destinations are at all interesting or exotic. Neighbours may think you are simply taking a tax-deductible […] Read more
How financially healthy is your farm?
AME Management: These two examples show how standardized financial statements can be a powerful source of insight into your operational management
Reading Time: 5 minutes Three articles in this space over the last year (see links further down) focused on the management information to be obtained from standardized farm accounting statements. This month, we illustrate it here with two farm examples, concentrating on the operating (profit and loss) statement. The organization of our operating statements is based on three principles: […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
