Reading Time: 7 minutes In today’s business world, few concepts are more important than growth. Most entrepreneurs are constantly looking for ways to expand their business to increase profitability and improve their shot at long-term survival. Of course, farmers and other agribusiness owners are no exception, and for Michael, Paul and John Sharpe — the three brothers behind Sharpe […] Read more
Scaling growth at Sharpe Farm
Three Ontario brothers grow their ability to achieve their goals
Resilient farmers vs. COVID-19: Burnham Family Farms
Here’s how family and community relationships powered these farmers through the pandemic, getting seed in the ground and creating a resolve for the future
Reading Time: 5 minutes In the battle against the pandemic that is gripping our industry and reaching across the globe, the resiliency of farmers continues to be showcased. In our last article, we explored the innovations employed by our ag community that demonstrated their ability to adapt and get the job done. “Another year, another challenge,” was the basic […] Read more
Working with change, instead of fearing it
Non-farm family businesses are in the throes of succession planning too. With the help of Chris Clarke, here’s how they’re elevating their team skills for superior succession planning — and why it’s driving their business performance as well
Reading Time: 5 minutes By now, every farmer has encountered more than a few articles on succession planning, and maybe the thought of even one more doesn’t seem all that appealing. Indeed, you’ve probably read the first few paragraphs of quite a few of these stories and paused, wondering if you’ll learn anything new. Well, this article is a […] Read more
The return of farm diversification
On this farm, widening the base of operations helps achieve crucial management goals
Reading Time: 6 minutes When Anthony Nabuurs talks about agriculture, he looks beyond growing crops and selling what he harvests. Expanding his operation beyond planting, spraying and combining has become a necessity for his farm and for those who work with him, partly because of economics, and also because it helps overcome some of the challenges of farming on […] Read more
Sharing succession stories
What can farmers learn from the transition struggles of Canada’s other independent, family-based businesses?
Reading Time: 5 minutes From a business perspective, whether it’s a family business, a family farm business or any other kind, succession planning is not only smart, it’s a condition of survival. According to the Family Business Institute for example, after the leader of a family business exits the picture for whatever reason, 70 per cent of these enterprises […] Read more
Brother-sister team credit teamwork on their Sask. farm
As long as Mom and Dad are actively farming, it can be simple. But what about later? Here’s how Saskatchewan’s Jarid and Jody Berglund are working toward their shared vision
Reading Time: 8 minutes During their pre-school years, if they weren’t trying to help with chores, Jody Berglund and her brother Jarid were busy playing farm together. “I don’t ever recall playing with Barbie dolls as a little girl,” says Jody. “Jarid and I would constantly play farm; we had a wooden barn, we built corrals out of Jenga […] Read more
Do siblings fight? Is grass green?
But if the problem runs deeper than occasional disagreements over what crop to plant or what size tractor to buy, the resolution has to involve listening to each other, especially when you really don’t want to
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s common for siblings to not get along. Research shows that in about half of families, a brother or sister does not get along with one or more of his or her siblings. On the farm, if they do decide to work together — and many don’t — it can, at best, be an uncomfortable […] Read more
The 10th generation farm
In central Nova Scotia, Cornwallis Farms has been in the same family for nine generations. So how are they planning for David’s arrival, and the start of a whole new chapter?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Thinking back to 2011, David Newcombe told his family that they’d missed a milestone on their farm — and a chance to throw a big party. But another chance will come. “In 2061 we’ll have a 300-year anniversary,” says Newcombe, now 28. That’s a lot of confidence, yet on this farm, you might say they’ve […] Read more
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
Editor’s Note: Those predictions for mid-size farms
The question is no longer, can the mid-size farm survive? Instead, on the brink of the 2020s, it might be better to ask, does any other farm size have such a chance?
Reading Time: 2 minutes You’ll find remarkably few statistics in associate editor Lorraine Stevenson’s article on Canada’s mid-size farms in our January 2020 issue of Country Guide. Nor will you find that we’ve sought out every expert or every farmer with an opinion on the future of the mid-size farm. We wanted to keep the story as clear as […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
