Reading Time: 6 minutes At nine years old Quentin Martin became one of five siblings who were shareholders of their family’s Master Breeder pedigreed Holstein farm, which his parents incorporated in 1965. “They gave all of us common shares,” says Martin,“which meant at nine years old I was sitting at the table with the feed salesman and the banker […] Read more
B2B strategic partnering
For the Martin farm in Ontario, building connections with other businesses is a winning formula
Managing your foreign exchange risks
Are you ready to deal with volatile currency values and their potential impact on your net income?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canada is now the fifth-largest exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world. As an export-focused industry, Canadian farmers are regularly exposed to the often-volatile currency exchange market. And while exchange rates have always moved, the fact that we are now so closely linked to a global economy has heightened our exposure to the […] Read more
Hemp area may stall in 2018
Area saw a big jump last year, but growers are facing more competition from China and Eastern Europe
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canadian commercial hemp production saw a big jump in 2017. Health Canada, the federal agency which oversees licensing, reports almost 140,000 acres were planted with industrial hemp, an 80 per cent increase from 75,000 acres in 2016. Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, says the increase reflects the growth since hemp […] Read more
Growing your mid-sized farm
Mid-winter is a great time to review the financial tools that help you make the best decisions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Often when we talk about growing a business, the assumption is that the way to do it is by growing in size. In agriculture, that could be farming more land, increasing the number of livestock, buying more quota, among others. One of my favourite mantras is that “better is better before bigger is better.” In […] Read more
Making sure you get paid
Recent changes to the marketing system have prompted the entrance of new players, so it’s worth a refresher on who guarantees payment for grain, and for how long
Reading Time: 4 minutes Grain producers protect the investment they’ve planted, fertilized, watched grow, harvested and taken the pains to safely store, but it’s the Canada Grain Act that’s supposed to ensure financial protection from buyers that go bust or act unscrupulously. Farmers have never had to worry about payment from the large elevator companies which have historically dominated […] Read more
For food and ag startups
For food and ag startups a real life Dragon’s Den is coming to Montreal with loads of cash and a focus on ag and food innovation
Reading Time: 4 minutes The title is certainly impressive. Manuel Gonzalez Guzman is managing director, global head of banking for food startup innovation and Rabobank’s Banking for Food Inspiration Centre. Rabobank after all is one of the world’s largest banks with over $750 billion in assets, all of it focused on the food, agribusiness and beverage industry. Equally impressive, […] Read more
The big 4
Where are all the mergers and acquisitions in the crop protection and seed sectors going to leave the individual farmer?
Reading Time: 9 minutes Sorting out who owns who in today’s agricultural supply sector is a bit like looking at that rat’s nest of cords and surge protectors behind your desk. Everyone’s too afraid to touch it because it’s so complicated and intertwined. Besides, it seems to be working, so why bother? Except… Canadian farmers spend billions in seed, […] Read more
Raising your farm’s importance
Making your farm more valuable to your suppliers can move you a big step up the success ladder
Reading Time: 5 minutes In some ways, of course, farming is unique. In other ways, though, it’s got the same concerns as every other business, because like other business owners, farmers must deal with various other businesses all through the year. What can farmers do to improve those business relationships, or at the very least to prevent hiccups in […] Read more
A shareholder plan for farm employees
With family and non-family ownership, Marie-Claude Mainville’s management of this Quebec farm may become a new Canadian pattern
Reading Time: 7 minutes Back in 1979, friends Jan Van Gennip and Orance Mainville decided to join forces to get into the feedlot business. Van Gennip had the farm, Mainville brought his knowledge of cattle and business, and together they formed Fermes Janor. Since then, Mainville (now semi-retired) has been joined by his daughter Marie-Claude, and many partners have […] Read more
The little railway that did
These Manitoba farmers show how much can be achieved with superior leadership skills
Reading Time: 14 minutes Remember The Little Engine that Could? It’s a story about optimism, hard work and determination, which pretty much sums up the story of the Boundary Trail Railway Company (BTRC), a producer-owned, short-line railway in southern Manitoba. In 2008, a group of Manitoba farmers, with no clue how to run a railway, signed a piece of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
