Reading Time: 6 minutes Australia and New Zealand have had their fair share of agricultural challenges. They’ve known fires, tsunamis and cyclones, to name a natural few, and they have suffered from the politics of export markets, not to mention supply-demand crashes in world prices for wool, beef and milk. And that’s without mentioning droughts which, according to Australia’s […] Read more
Bounce back, don’t break
What makes some farms so resilient in tough economic times? Finally, this New Zealand research finds some answers
Top financial tools for farmers
January is a great time to review the financial tools that help you make the best decisions
Reading Time: 4 minutes For many of us, the new year is a time of reflection. It’s an opportunity to take stock of where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going, both personally and professionally. This is certainly important for farmers, as January is a good month for a detailed review of the administrative side of the […] Read more
The value of learning
AME Management: Learning business management can contribute to self-esteem and confidence
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers sometimes wonder whether additional courses and learning are of great value after taking into account course fees, travel, sometimes hotels, and always valuable time away from your business. Peer pressure can add to the psychological cost if the destinations are at all interesting or exotic. Neighbours may think you are simply taking a tax-deductible […] Read more
A new leadership
When DuPont Pioneer tapped Bryce Eger as their new Canadian head, here’s the leadership style they were putting their money behind. Can it work on the farm too?
Reading Time: 7 minutes When Bryce Eger says, “Nobody has a textbook for this,” farmers across the country get it. Where Eger goes next, though, may be worth a pause. As farms rapidly get bigger and more sophisticated, the difference between running a farm versus running an ag business fades. Some might say it even begins to disappear, and […] Read more
Family meetings that work
It may seem risky to get the whole family together for a farm meeting. It’s also smart
Reading Time: 5 minutes Having guided farm families through some of their most challenging periods, Jolene Brown understands why regular meetings fall by the wayside in many businesses. “It’s because of the way the last one ended. Nothing got done, someone took over, somebody cried, people walked out, people had so much work to do and the meeting just […] Read more
Young farmers talk about their future
We find out what these university students are thinking as they prepare to head home to the farm. They know their opportunities are great, but their challenges are humbling too
Reading Time: 9 minutes A gaggle in ball caps, T-shirts, jeans and flannel politely stumbled off the bus. They’re third-year students in the University of McGill’s farm management and technology program, and they were on a tour of Ontario farms. They stopped at mine to discuss business structure, succession and the future of agriculture. On closer look and listen, […] Read more
How good are your HR skills? Is it time to upgrade?
If you are going to have employees, you can never run away from being a supervisor,” says HR consultant Leah Knibbs. It’s a role, she says, that pays well when it’s done well
Reading Time: 7 minutes Not only are our farms getting bigger and more complex, but farm families are also getting smaller as farming couples have fewer kids, just like other Canadians. It’s a demographic combination that has changed the ag labour dynamic, says Leah Knibbs. For many farmers, the days of running the farm by putting the family to […] Read more
Three red flags to watch for on your farm
Is it time to call in an HR consultant to boost your farm’s performance?
Reading Time: 2 minutes The first warning sign seems like it should be an obvious one. But it isn’t always that simple. This red flag is a farm that can’t keep staff. The trouble is, it’s easy to blame the employees instead of taking a hard look at whether the problem is closer to home, says Leah Knibbs of […] Read more
Editor’s Note: We’re making the connection
Reading Time: 2 minutes Finally we’re actually moving into an agriculture that knows exactly how to integrate business management for better, more profitable decisions in the field. I know that many of you have been following our series of financial management columns written by the faculty and teachers at AgriFood Management Excellence, the group that offers the advanced CTEAM […] Read more
Generating farm independence
Sometimes, the best solution can be for the next generation to build a farm of their own
Reading Time: 10 minutes The roads here are typical for this part of rural Ontario, running between neighbouring towns. On either side, at the end of long maple-sided lanes are well-kept dairy, beef and crop farms divided into 100-acre parcels, with red and black barns stamped proudly with farm names, usually family names. Occasionally too a lane is overgrown, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
