Reading Time: 6 minutes Neighbourliness is stitched into the fabric of rural Canada. It always has been. In fact, as Dr. Catharine Wilson, professor of history at the University of Guelph might put it, “reciprocal labour” is what paved the way for our farming success. “I don’t think we can overstate how important neighbours were,” says Wilson. It isn’t […] Read more
Better neighbours
In an era of bigger, busier operations, are farmers still paragons of neighbourliness?
Building a knowledge base for your farm team
For today’s farmers, the top question to ask your farm business advisor may be, “Who else are we bringing in on my job?”
Reading Time: 6 minutes Independence has always had its limits. Farmers have always enlisted off-farm experts to help solve tough production issues, and they’ve always kept their ears open when they’ve met with their bookkeepers or bank managers. But times have sped up. Today’s farms, whether small, medium or large, are complex operations that require a team to help […] Read more
Five moves to make in 2022
With so much opportunity, so much risk, so much change and so much uncertainty, can this be a historic year for your farm?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Despite drought, floods and a continuing global pandemic, Canadian farm businesses came out of 2021 with a notable increase in cash receipts. While economists expect farm revenues to continue to grow, it’s a figure that will only tell half of the story for financial success. Revenue growth does not equate to profitability. The other half […] Read more
Bright spots and blind spots
Bright Ideas: “Hugely successful businesses have been built on this principle,” says IBM founder Tom Watson. “It’s worth giving it some thought."
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers frequently take stock of tangible assets. They know how much money they have in the bank, how much machinery they’ve got ready to go, and how much of which crop inputs they have on hand. But what about intangible assets? Could we be keeping better track of our knowledge and skills, and should we […] Read more
Is a joint venture right for you?
On Canadian farms, and especially in succession planning, joint ventures are still uncommon. That may soon change, but it means you’ll have to wrap your head around these essential concepts
Reading Time: 10 minutes They aren’t going to work on every farm. Joint ventures are common in industries such as natural resources, energy and property development, but they haven’t yet found a real home in agriculture, and certainly not as a farm transition tool. With the price of farm assets such as land and equipment soaring, though, and with […] Read more
Lessons from the 1980s
Can farm advice from those who were on the front lines 40 years ago help producers survive the challenges of the 2020s?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Roger Pelissero remembers when the 1980s farm crisis dominated headlines in newspapers and the evening news, although he didn’t need to read the paper or turn on the television to know that farmers were in trouble. “We had friends in Western Canada growing commodities and grain who had to give up their land,” recalls Pelissero, […] Read more
Thriving vs. surviving
Opportunities and challenges are on the horizon. Is your farm ready? This case study may help
Reading Time: 8 minutes It’s a question farm business advisors are hearing more and more from farmers across the country. “What can I do today to improve my financial position in five years?” While there are a number of reasons why seeking out this type of advice is a good idea, management consultants Gavin Betker and Jacqueline Gerrard find […] Read more
Above board
Pay yourself, and put the numbers right from the start in your budgets. 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. It’s just that the money gets sucked out some other way. Of course it’s an idea that can take some getting […] Read more
Joint venturers
Joint ventures rarely get used in today’s farm succession plans. These two producers call that a major missed opportunity
Reading Time: 11 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 22, 2022] Doyle Wiebe expects to do a lot more golfing this summer than he did eight years ago, and he’s managing to find time for a lot of other activities too, like mentoring and consulting, that he much prefers over driving a tractor for hours at a time. In 2014, by contrast, […] Read more
What if bigger farms aren’t better?
Canada’s largest farms are unbeatable. At least, we’re pretty sure they maybe are
Reading Time: 6 minutes Are Canada’s mid-sized farms heading in the same direction as the dinosaurs? That’s not exactly what a recent analysis by think-tank Agri-Food Economic Systems is predicting, but there’s no question it wants to raise some doubts before you grow your own farm any bigger. Large farms are booming in Canada, and they’re doing that mainly […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
