Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers across Canada are doing their very best to integrate business practices into their farming operations. They understand that maximizing the success of a farm business takes more than production excellence. But what business practices should they make standard, and why? Let’s first look at where farmers have started from, based on a study called […] Read more
Is your farm keeping up with the times?
These eight practices are becoming the standard for smart Canadian farmers. Are you using them all?
Family through succession: Putting the Hunter plan into operation
"The best thing you can do to protect your legacy is to be a part of planning what it will be.”
Reading Time: 7 minutes We wrap up the Hunter family succession story with this final article in our five-part series. It has been a remarkable venture for our team to share with Country Guide readers the transition-planning journey undertaken by this family. The process took just over one year, from the start to the finish of the plan, and […] Read more
From good boss to great
Saskatchewan farm advisor and HR specialist Marianne Hawkins offers practical tips on making the transition
Reading Time: 5 minutes We’ve all heard the adage “people quit bosses, not jobs.” Maybe you have quit a boss yourself. If so, you’ll remember why. Perhaps they were always complaining, or maybe they played favourites, or they treated you as if they thought you were always trying to cheat them. Maybe, too, they would never admit their own […] Read more
Reaching fair rents for farmland
There are at least eight ways to negotiate land rental rates. But is there a right way?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Back-to-back years of ugly weather mean many farmers will be re-thinking rents this December, especially farmers who still have crop out in the field or who have experienced yield or quality losses, or who’ve been hit with increased harvest and drying costs. If a land lease is up for renewal next year, they’ll be asking […] Read more
Seven strategies of successful farmers
Here’s new evidence that business skills increase farm income, no matter what size the farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes With the harvest finally in the bin, farmers across the country are evaluating their farm management practices and they are making management decisions for the future. Business management skills are more important than ever as farmers face huge challenges, including unpredictable weather, volatile markets, labour shortages, succession, and much more. In this environment, a great […] Read more
Making a name in crop protection
Can FMC build a new company you’ll actually want to do business with?
Reading Time: 7 minutes The insiders at FMC have a plan for getting you to become a loyal customer of a company you’ve barely heard of in an industry dominated by huge names you can’t forget, like BASF, Bayer and Syngenta. Can FMC do it? The big test may be in your mailbox right now. As a company, FMC […] Read more
Farm skills shape a path for fast-growing business venture
In a growing trend, Brett Sheffield has used his farm business know-how to build one of Western Canada’s largest and fastest-growing tile drainage companies
Reading Time: 8 minutes Something big jumps out at you when you scan the Growth 500 list of Canada’s fastest growing companies for 2019. It’s produced by Canadian Business magazine based on the five-year revenue growth posted by each company, and tucked in amongst all the names of all the non-agricultural, big-city enterprises on the list, is one very […] Read more
On board at WestGen
The unique co-op celebrates its 75th anniversary by focusing on its farm board’s “direct and protect” role
Reading Time: 7 minutes WestGen began life in Surrey, B.C in September 1944 under the moniker of the Lower Fraser Valley Artificial Insemination Association, and in many ways it’s the same group that currently operates out of Abbotsford, B.C., despite a litany of name and location changes over the years. Over those years, too, the co-operative-minded group has become […] Read more
Calculating a fairer, smarter farm inheritance: Part One
Can an estate plan be fair both to the family and to the farm business? Merle Good and Greg Gartner see a way forward
Reading Time: 6 minutes I’m supposed to ask the questions, but Merle Good, Alberta farm business advisor and nationally followed succession expert shoots a question my way before I get a chance. “Suppose you could open all the wills of today’s farmers,” he says. “How many are leaving land to off-farm children?” I expect the number is big — […] Read more
Become a farm CEO: Why make the shift?
Executive-level behaviour is good for both the farm and farmer
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s time that farmers develop beyond being the world-class farm managers they are today. That’s the vibe I’m getting from clients, program participants and industry professionals. The conversation around what abilities Canadian farmers need to develop, and how they should acquire them, is already underway. If a farmer is successfully operating his or her business, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
