Reading Time: 11 minutes Travis Hopcott and his siblings Brad and Jennifer might tell you they have been flying pretty much by the seat of their pants since each of them came back to their family farm at various times over the past 20 years. That is sometimes how they have felt. But, in reality, what they have been […] Read more
All in it together
Canada’s next-gen farmers are evolving a management model that adapts to every scenario. Not sure? Well, check out this Vancouver farm
The new farmers
Is it possible for a non-farmer without big capital to become a farmer in today’s Canada? The Young Agrarians have an answer the entire industry is watching
Reading Time: 9 minutes Krystyna Delahaye didn’t always see herself as a farmer. Back in 2012, she wasn’t one. Originally from Quebec, Delahaye had simply moved to B.C. to work front of house in a restaurant and she met Jason Stashko, who was working as a cook in another restaurant. It’s a story similar in its way to the […] Read more
Elevating the farm business
It’s the story of Canada’s young farmers. Crucial decisions at the start of their farm careers have enabled Michelle and Nick Hoffsuemmer to make even bigger decisions later on
Reading Time: 7 minutes Like other farmers who market and deliver their own grain, Nick Hoffsuemmer always knew a lot about contracts, delivery requirements, discounts, grades and all the assorted things that most farmers who sell their crops to the local elevator get to know. But Hoffsuemmer didn’t expect to end up getting into the elevator business. When he […] Read more
Editor’s Note: That thing about young farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Today’s mid-career farmers have got things figured out. They know they’re different. They’re more professional, they’re more management oriented, they’re more strategic, but … But, as a group, they’re at risk of getting outshone by the young farmers in the next generation that are starting to show what they can do. You’ll see it in […] 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
Young and bankable
Are you in your teens or 20s, and want to farm? It’s time to show you’re ready for the discipline of financial management
Reading Time: 4 minutes Growing numbers of family farms across Canada have started on the transition journey. They’re actively working at creating pathways that will give the next generation their shot at calling themselves farmers. For tons of these hopeful farmers, though, there’s a big question. How can they become bankable? Sure, Mom and Dad may think they are […] Read more
Strategic marketing
These three farms have made fundamental changes to how they market. Should you too?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Whether you price and deliver using a commodity exchange, or whether you negotiate contracts with retailers or you sell farm products directly to consumers, the price you go to market at is always crucial to success in agriculture. Increasingly, though, today’s farmers are applying their management skills to the job. How can they set themselves […] Read more
On-boarding the kids
This summer is a great time to ask the next generation some smart questions
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s an all-too-common scenario. The farm family sits down together around the kitchen table. It’s time to talk. Maybe you could even call it a meeting. Grandpa thinks it’s a bunch of hooey. No one ever had to sit and talk for hours in his day. If the kids had enough work to do, we […] Read more
Soil sisters
Guide Canada: When people assume that Jeanette Heffernan and Katie Sherratt are sisters, the pair don’t bother to correct them. They’ve learned it’s better to tackle one stereotype at a time
Reading Time: 8 minutes The two young women at Tipsy Willow Farm break a lot of preconceptions about farming. That’s true on many farms, of course, especially where the next generation is in their early twenties and they’re introducing new concepts to the family farm in order to launch their own farming careers. But it’s even more true here. […] Read more
Before you come back to the farm
More next-gen farmers are taking off-farm jobs before they return to the farm. It’s proving a very good thing
Reading Time: 6 minutes While growing up, Jackie Dudgeon figured she would go to school and then be on her way. She had no plans to join her dad growing canola, wheat and soybeans on their Darlingford farm, a couple hours southwest of Winnipeg. But after she spent a summer working off-farm blending fertilizer, treating seed and delivering chemicals […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
