Reading Time: 5 minutes For many farmers, being a farmer is part of their fundamental nature. It’s who they are and they can’t imagine a time when they won’t be a farmer. Who hasn’t heard a farmer say they want to die farming? But the reality is that many farmers will need to exit the business whether they want […] Read more
How farmers can thrive in retirement
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to retirement and planning ahead makes it much more enjoyable
Planning for retirement: Lifestyle versus finances
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers might not think about retirement often, if ever. But the sooner you start to think about retiring, you can minimize the impact of the adjustment when the time comes. A retirement plan should be part of the conversation when creating a succession plan. The emphasis of succession planning is typically on transferring the business […] Read more
Starting succession right
If you’ve resolved to start transitioning the farm this year, these insights can help you get a strong start
Reading Time: 7 minutes It’s no secret that many farm and ranch operations facing the prospect of transition to the next generation feel stuck and unsure how to proceed. “We can’t emphasize enough that retirement is a significant life transition that comes with a rollercoaster of challenges and emotions,” write Robert Laura and Colleen Drummond in the Modern Elder […] Read more
Diversifying the farm helps build a new business
Who has time to manage a bigger, more diversified farm? The Boldts found how to say, “We do!”
Reading Time: 11 minutes When Melanie Boldt pivoted her business from a grain farm to the first vertically integrated meat producer and market in Saskatchewan, she took a “just do it” approach and leaned into the challenge to change, diversify and expand her family farm. That was 26 years ago, and looking back, Boldt says she’s not sure she […] Read more
Legal considerations when transferring farm assets
Every farming operation is different and poses its unique challenges and considerations
Reading Time: 5 minutes The transferring of the land, buildings, equipment and quota that make up the farming operation can be thought of as the “meat and potatoes” of transition planning. Typically, once a plan has been developed for succession, there are assets that need to be transferred from one generation to the next. This can take the form […] Read more
Setting up your retirement goals
Decisions to make in your 40s, 50s and 60s
Reading Time: 5 minutes Every farmer will need an exit strategy, whether you’re looking forward to it or not. Age, health and family issues won’t wait forever. Besides, being proactive now can save tons of stress and family conflict and potentially thousands of dollars later on. It will make you happier too. So isn’t that worth thinking about? In […] Read more
How to get started on your farm succession plan
Reading Time: 4 minutes We see a lot of farming clients who, at the end of a call, will say, “We should get together to discuss our succession plan sometime.” But actually getting started requires intentional effort from the decision makers in the family. The first step is making the succession plan a priority. Succession planning is more than […] Read more
How the farm succession landscape is changing
Eighty per cent of Annessa Good-Hassard’s clients come to her today wanting to gift or leave their farmland to non-farming children. And that may not be the biggest change in the new succession planning
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s no secret. Succession planning involves bringing in the experts. But that’s nothing new. Farm families have been calling in lawyers, accountants and business advisors to help with their transition planning for decades. But don’t try saying there’s nothing new about those advisors today. Or about what they’re bringing to more and more farms. It […] Read more
Farm succession fundamentals
Despite all the social media and all the press stories, when it comes to succession, you’re still in the driver’s seat
Reading Time: 5 minutes Sure, some of the dollars are bigger. Sometimes much, much bigger. And some of the emotions around the succession table are bigger too, possibly bigger than the farm may ever have seen. Even so, when business advisor Rob Foster sits down with new clients to start discussions about farm succession, he still begins the same […] Read more
More owners at your farm table
Bringing more siblings and cousins on board can strengthen your farm, but be sure to do it right
Reading Time: 3 minutes Through history, most farms ended up sold or split between siblings. Today, however, we’re seeing a big change. Rather than splitting the farm, family farm groups made up of siblings and cousins are increasingly sticking together. Sometimes these groups become active farming operations. In other families, they hold the land. While good for the continuity […] Read more
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