Reading Time: 3 minutes Often when we talk about growing a business, the assumption is that the way to do it is by growing in size. In agriculture, that could be farming more land, increasing the number of livestock, buying more quota, among others. One of my favourite mantras is that “better is better before bigger is better.” In […] Read more
Growing your mid-sized farm
Mid-winter is a great time to review the financial tools that help you make the best decisions
Let your kids see how you mind your farm’s business
Here’s where the farm succession process really starts
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’re close to retirement, you may be getting ready to succeed the farm to your children. Or, if you’re younger, you’ll be thinking about what is going to happen to the farm when it’s your turn to retire. In either scenario, your family, your children and the business itself will likely be intermingling, which […] Read more
Farm bankruptcies down, but not out – just different
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | CNS Canada – Fewer farms means fewer bankruptcies but with that simple equation comes the realization that the size and tone of those bankruptcies in North America is growing. “They are larger, the amount of debt is greater, the fact that we’re not seeing a higher number doesn’t mean there isn’t considerable distress […] Read more
Answer these tough questions before asking for a loan
Looking for a loan or an increase in your line of credit? Here are five key questions you should be able to answer before talking to your lender.
Follow the five per cent rule
Incremental changes can have a big impact on your operation
Reading Time: 4 minutes You may have heard the saying, “Take care of the small things and the big things take care of themselves.” This is a great piece of advice for life in general, and it also very much applies in the context of running a farm business, where even small changes can have a big impact on[...]
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Create your foreign exchange strategy
Can you afford to be exposed to the risks of volatile currency markets?
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to managing risk to their operations, farmers are well versed in the usual suspects — whether that’s risks in the field like adverse weather, disease and equipment failure, or whether it’s spiking interest rates, lack of adequate cash flow, or being over-leveraged. But one often overlooked risk is when dealing with foreign[...]
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Four common foreign exchange myths
Gwen Paddock, senior director, agriculture at RBC is a specialist in agribusiness. Since earning her B.Sc. with a major in agriculture economics she has been working with agriculture clients. A farmer at heart, Paddock was raised on a beef cow-calf farm outside Guelph, Ont.
What bankers want to see when you go to the bank
Getting these documents ready before you meet the bank rep may mean more available financing with better terms
Reading Time: 4 minutes Typically banks review their clients’ financial statements annually as part of a credit review process. The goal is to understand the client’s ability to service debt and how this may have changed over the past year. “We want to help you manage your cash flow,” says plain speaking Tara Conway, BMO vice-president of commercial banking[...]
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How financially healthy is your farm?
AME Management: These two examples show how standardized financial statements can be a powerful source of insight into your operational management
Reading Time: 5 minutes Three articles in this space over the last year (see links further down) focused on the management information to be obtained from standardized farm accounting statements. This month, we illustrate it here with two farm examples, concentrating on the operating (profit and loss) statement. The organization of our operating statements is based on three principles:[...]
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Guide HR: Why smart entrepreneurs do stupid things with money
Reading Time: 3 minutes Smart money management flows more from psychology than from math. Even very bright people make terrible financial choices. If we are honest, each of us has a story about how we’ve done dumb things with money. These irrational choices are often the product of some psychological or emotional impulse. As leaders, we think we make[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
