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
Legal considerations when transferring farm assets
Every farming operation is different and poses its unique challenges and considerations
Finding the right peer group for you
The right peer group can be a great way to gain insight into your business numbers and your management options. But where do you find that ‘right’ group?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Peer groups are quickly taking on a new life in Canadian agriculture. But these are different groups today, about as different from the coffee gang at your nearby Tim’s as the NHL is from the local old-timers’ league. There are still multiple types of these groups, focusing on financial or business management, perhaps, or succession, […] Read more
The view at year 8
Like so many young farmers, what Dane Froese wants isn’t so different from what his parents wanted at his age. But can he find his way there in farming today?
Reading Time: 14 minutes Growing up, I always admired the work that Dad did on the farm,” says Dane Froese, 30 years old and eight years into his plan to become a fourth-generation farmer at Winkler, an hour and a half south of Winnipeg. Froese doesn’t round off the edges. He knows what he wants, And he knows it […] Read more
Sharing succession stories
What can farmers learn from the transition struggles of Canada’s other independent, family-based businesses?
Reading Time: 5 minutes From a business perspective, whether it’s a family business, a family farm business or any other kind, succession planning is not only smart, it’s a condition of survival. According to the Family Business Institute for example, after the leader of a family business exits the picture for whatever reason, 70 per cent of these enterprises […] Read more
Seamless transfers
This family farm corporation in Ontario has transferred four times since the ’60s and recently diversified with the purchase of a local grain elevator. Here’s how the VanSickles have done it, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way
Reading Time: 6 minutes Near the Grand River south of Brantford, Shawn VanSickle pulls under the shade of a big oak tree at the end of the field. He stops for a moment to reflect about how in 1966 his grandfather did something groundbreaking for the time — incorporated the family farm. Five decades later, G.H. VanSickle & Sons […] Read more
The next farm generation steps up
On this farm, transition planning made real gains once the younger generation learned how to take their role in the process
Reading Time: 11 minutes Alec Boekhoven had turned over at 2 a.m., fretting about ways to reduce feed costs on his family’s 600-sow farrow-to-finish operation. Eventually he drifted off on the couch, which is where his son Evan discovered him and woke him up early. It’s why Alec brought his three-year-old with him to do chores, and it also […] Read more
Legal insights into transition planning
Today it’s getting even more critical to keep up with your legal documents all through your business planning and succession discussions
Reading Time: 9 minutes At 45,000 sq. feet the new dairy pack barn is impressive, especially the way it captures the spirit of hope that fills the McCorquodale family at Embro, Ont. With the next generation waiting in the wings, their barn represents their shared belief in their future, complete with robotic milking system and the latest in cow-comfort […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
