Reading Time: 2 minutes Traditionally, farms used family, friends and neighbours to supply labour. However, as family size and rural population has shrunk, and as the size of the average farm has increased, our reliance on hired employees has multiplied. Today, farms often employ and manage a handful of people, and it’s also not uncommon for those employees to […] Read more
Where are the workers needed on farms?
Nine per cent of on-farm jobs are unfilled. Employees are scarce, and it’s going to get worse
Guide HR: Do you make smart mistakes?
Never fear, learning from your mistakes can make you a more successful person
Reading Time: 3 minutes Let’s be honest, even though we don’t want to admit that we make mistakes. We do make them. It seems that it is inherent to the human condition. Human beings are error prone. I am a human being; therefore, I make mistakes. In fact, the more decisions we make, the more mistakes we will make. […] Read more
Reap the value of personality testing
AME Management: Understanding who you and your people are can help your business reach its goals
Reading Time: 3 minutes Understanding ourselves and others is one of the increasingly important skills needed to be effective in agri-business organizations. In order to harness the full potential of their organizations and to hit the financial, strategic and operational goals of their businesses, the best managers report that they need to know how to get the best from […] Read more
The strategic approach to managing employees
AME Management: It's important to foster a culture of employee engagement so people feel respected, motivated
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you own or manage an agricultural business of any size, you likely have a number of employees (family members or otherwise) working with you. And you have them for good reason. Employees come with many benefits, or at least they should. Employees with specialized skills can provide missing competencies and networks, allowing the business […] Read more
It’s not ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to team building on the farm
It might seem something only office workers should waste their time on, but team building fits farming too
Reading Time: 4 minutes The options are endless. Companies send their employees out rock climbing. They hire fancy consultants to host trust-building days. They send their executive boards fly fishing, or arrange a day of more traditional community service work where everyone can work side by side and roles are often reversed. Less adventurous businesses can even do the […] Read more
What’s your communication fitness level?
What kind of meeting athlete are you? Check out this new take for meetings your family will be proud of
Reading Time: 6 minutes Are you a couch potato when it comes to talking to your family about critical farm decisions? The comparison isn’t so far fetched. In a way, family communication is a lot like physical fitness. Even the best of us have areas that need a little toning, while many more of us need to spend serious time […] Read more
Are you a good leader on your farm?
Like never before, your farm needs new leadership for a new business environment. Are you getting the job done? Rate yourself on these five key leadership traits
Reading Time: 6 minutes Quick, name five strengths that farmers need in order to get their day’s work done. It’s simple, right? You need technological, financial, production, and mechanical skills, and of course, we should never forget hands-on experience. Now, just as fast, list five leadership skills that farmers need for success into the future… Not so easy, is […] Read more
Are your activities defined as passion or obsession?
“Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel. Our reason is the pilot that steers her. Without winds the vessel would not move and without a pilot she would be lost.” — Anonymous
Reading Time: 3 minutes Years ago, I met two men, Steve and Martin, preparing their cows for a show. Both very proud of their cattle, and also proud to help bring this prestigious livestock event to their area. They told me how passionate they were. If there is one common characteristic shared by all entrepreneurs and leaders, it is […] Read more
Talking things out is the key to a successful farm
Guide Thrive 2015: It’s simple enough to avoid discussing the big things and the little things that really matter. It’s just that most farms will never really thrive until you do
Reading Time: 8 minutes Megan McKenzie has observed elections in Congo, she has documented human rights issues in Columbia and the Middle East, she has worked at a reconciliation centre in Ireland, and along the way she has earned a doctorate in conflict resolution and international peace studies, along with mediation training. All this despite growing up on a […] Read more
Farming families and communication skills on the farm
There are times when it’s best to treat each other like business associates instead of family
Reading Time: 4 minutes While everyone seems to agree that good communication is essential for success on today’s multi-generational farms, many of us don’t seem to be making much progress. That’s not surprising to Reg Shandro, a Lacombe, Alta. mediator who specializes in helping farm families. After all, we get very little education on how to become good communicators, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
