Reading Time: < 1 minute How can you tell your parents that the accountant they’ve had for years might not currently be the best option for the farm? An email from Worried We’re Missing Something asked our resident awkward conversation pro, Patti Durand from Brightrack Consulting, for advice about what they should say to mom and dad to ensure that […] Read more
VIDEO: Is your parents’ accountant the best fit for the farm?
VIDEO: How to ask for a raise on the farm
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’re thinking of asking for a raise but know that conversations about money can be awkward — especially if the boss is mom or dad — then you’ll want to listen to this week’s episode of Awkward Ag for step-by-step advice.
How to develop a leader’s mindset at every stage of your career
Summer Series: Leadership looks different at every stage of your farm career. And the stories you hear, the ones you seek out or the ones you tell yourself all effect how you lead
Reading Time: 3 minutes From the time we are born stories help us learn important lessons. Every day I look around for stories that can help me understand what is or isn’t working on our farm. It might be small anecdotes or maybe a line from an employee or a supplier that sticks with me. If I can understand […] Read more
VIDEO: Trying to find work-life balance on the farm
Reading Time: < 1 minute In this week’s episode of Awkward Ag, Patti Durand answers a letter signed by “Trying to Find Balance” who asks Patti what they can say to other farm team members who make them feel guilty about trying to find a work-life balance. Do you need some advice on how to have an awkward conversation with […] Read more
The farm isn’t just a great place to grow up
Summer Series: Farms of the future won’t look like they did just a few decades ago. Is the industry doing enough to sell the next generation on careers in agriculture?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Growing up I wanted to farm. I laugh now because what I defined as farming when I was young is not even identifiable in today’s operations: sleeping behind the seat of grandpa’s combine, driving the farm truck when I couldn’t reach the pedals and sitting shotgun in the grain truck with no air conditioning. This […] Read more
All roads lead to the farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cody Snyder knew that he could always return to the farm, so he took advantage of the opportunity to work, travel and learn, “Because the farm is always there, it’ll never go anywhere,” he says. For a while he worked as a licensed mechanic and then decided to live in England for two years. He’s […] Read more
Formalize the family farm with shareholder agreements
Reading Time: 3 minutes What if everyone in the farm business could lay out their expectations and at the same time determine what is expected of each to make the business work? And what if you could also design a road map for how each person exits the operation or buys out other parties? A shareholder’s agreement is an […] Read more
Legal considerations when transferring farm assets
Every farming operation is different and poses its unique challenges and considerations
Reading Time: 5 minutes The transferring of the land, buildings, equipment and quota that make up the farming operation can be thought of as the “meat and potatoes” of transition planning. Typically, once a plan has been developed for succession, there are assets that need to be transferred from one generation to the next. This can take the form […] Read more
Summer Series: Coming home to farm
[Make It Count] Don’t expect the keys to be waiting, warns Andy Caygeon Junkin. Instead, carve out a path to self-improvement
Reading Time: 6 minutes Let’s imagine you have just come back to the family farm. You have completed your diploma or degree, your head is full of ideas, your energy is overflowing, and you are absolutely itching to sit down and have a conversation with Mom and Dad about when and how you are going to take over the […] Read more
Summer Series: The learning curve of farm diversification
[Make it Count] Change is certain. Now, these two farms leverage it to diversify and grow their farms even more
Reading Time: 6 minutes The reasons farms diversify are as varied as the types of farms. The options are equally numerous. Maybe it’s to enhance or grow the operation or to add more income streams. Or the owners come across an opportunity too good to turn down. So, how does someone decide when to diversify and what option to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
