Reading Time: 7 minutes Anyone could see it. Over the past decade, profits and patronage payments had become sporadic at United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd. (UFA). The organization that had been spawned in a moment of political fervour in 1909 had now become the home of empty shelves and poor customer service at the local level. At the […] Read more
Turnaround
UFA boss Carol Kitchen reveals how the co-op defied the odds and got back on the track to prosperity
Smart stuff
Do parents really recognize the skills their children are bringing back from college and university, and how those skills can make the farm stronger?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Skip the smiley faces and the acronyms. In the new age of digital soft skills, agricultural schools are embracing the same modes of electronic communication as their students, albeit with a dose of finesse, professionalism and, at times, trepidation. “Don’t use emojis, they’re cute, but they’re not professional,” Mark Fournier of Alberta’s Olds College tells […] Read more
Early warning signs of a business in trouble
Whether it’s your farm, or a company or a farm you deal with, it’s never good to be the last to know
Reading Time: 3 minutes Unfortunately some businesses will fail. There can be any number of contributing reasons, such as an economic downturn, competition, bad customer relations, bad internal management, changes in markets, government regulations or unforeseen events. Even so, there are a number of warning signs that could signal the business is in trouble, says Jerry Lupkowski, a senior […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
