Reading Time: 2 minutes There can be many reasons why an additional farm business may succeed or fail. Often, it actually has nothing to do with farming. For the Kolks, a series of decisions over the years paved the way for the K3 Seeds acquisition. Professional development: Both Leighton Kolk and son Jordan believe in professional development. Kolk is […] Read more
Building intangibles on your farm
When is a good time to incorporate your farm?
Incorporating isn’t right for everyone, but it can often help the farm grow and prepare for the future
Reading Time: 4 minutes Should you incorporate your farm? It’s a decision with many moving parts, combining tax planning with growth strategies. And it’s a decision more and more farmers are making. The 2016 census showed about half of all Canadian farms were sole proprietorships, 23 per cent were partnerships and about a quarter were corporations. Successful farms depend […] Read more
Farm psychology: aging and generativity
Guide Psychology: There are four essential acts of generativity
Reading Time: 4 minutes Editor’s Note: Bonnie Whitehead, M.Sc. (psychology) launches her new CG column demonstrating how the rapidly evolving science of psychology can improve your business and personal farm success. She begins with generativity and its exciting opportunity to keep us strong and vibrant as we age. Our motivation to achieve is deeply embedded in our personalities. The […] Read more
Keep the farm or sell?
Mom and Dad want to retire. What’s the smart move? Should you keep the land for the family, or sell and invest?
Reading Time: 4 minutes As farming parents prepare to retire, conflicting viewpoints can arise with their offspring over keeping the land or selling it. What’s the right way to go? Deciding whether to retain versus divesting the family farm may be the biggest decision that any farm family will ever have to undertake. There’s no right or wrong answer, […] Read more
Telus, Rabobank ag arms buy into farm data aggregator
Companies join in on deal for Minneapolis-based Conservis
Reading Time: 2 minutes The agriculture arms of one of Canada’s major telecoms providers and a major Dutch bank and financial services firm are taking a stake in a tech firm in the business of gathering on-farm data into a single window. Telus Agriculture and Rabo AgriFinance, which is headquartered in St. Louis and serves U.S. farm customers, announced […] Read more
The next big step: mid-career mentorship
You’re already smart and dedicated, but is that really enough for today’s challenges?
Reading Time: 6 minutes When Adam Gregory signed up for LeaderShift’s year-long national farm leadership program, he didn’t anticipate waking up at the crack of dawn to do group yoga. “Some people were way out of their comfort zone,” Gregory laughs. “I’m open to trying anything, so it wasn’t a hurdle for me.” There’s more to LeaderShift’s program than […] Read more
Getting involved at the farm level
Farm organizations sustain Canadian agriculture. They’re also where a whole lot of farmers are gaining leadership, management and decision-making skills. Should you join them?
Reading Time: 9 minutes As summer approaches and the pandemic is beginning to ease, it’s time to take stock. What got agriculture through the COVID-19 pandemic? Who kept things from falling off the rails? It turns out farm organizations played an enormous role. You probably know that already. Understandably, these groups invest heavily in making sure their members know […] Read more
Above board
Pay yourself, and put the numbers in your budgets right from the start. It’s better for you, and for the business too
Reading Time: 5 minutes The thing is, you’re going to eat anyway, and probably wear clothes too. When a farmer doesn’t build a salary into their business model, they’ll still spend money on their personal needs and desires. The money just gets sucked out some other way. Of course a salary can take some getting used to, says Julia […] Read more
Roots and branches
The popular idea is that farming is a closed shop: If you aren’t born on a farm, you will never farm. But it isn’t quite true
Reading Time: 12 minutes Unconventional stories are becoming conventional in today’s agriculture. In fact, they’re becoming surprisingly conventional. Yes, agriculture across the decades has always found unexpected ways to replenish itself. Still, the barriers to entry have never been as astronomic as they are today for anyone who isn’t among the fortunate few to have been born into long-established, […] Read more
Value in your farming peers
Could a peer group be right for you? Country Guide talks to one Ontario group to find out
Reading Time: 6 minutes When Ontario’s Janet O’Rourke and her husband Kevin took CTEAM — the executive management program designed specifically for Canadian farmers and ranchers — they got their first taste of peer feedback and the benefits it can bring. As part of the program, their class of farmers met four times over two years and got to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
