Backswath Management, a Winnipeg-based agriculture-only management consulting firm, has announced new leadership, a new service area, and big plans for the future. Josée Lemoine, co-owner and chief operating officer of Backswath Management, will now serve as the firm’s chief executive officer. In her new CEO role, Lemoine succeeds Backswath founder Terry Betker, who will continue… Read More
Category: Farm Management
There’s a lot of moving pieces going on in agriculture right now, and one of those pieces is the international crop. Just because we are talking international, doesn’t mean the crop doesn’t face one of the number one issues ours does domestically — the weather. As a function of La Niña conditions lingering, Australia has… Read More
If the farm is waiting for the tax filing to sort out profit and loss, decisions are being made for close to a year, and maybe more, without a full financial picture. Budgeting may be up there on the favourites list with a root canal or unclogging toilets; it’s rare that someone really loves developing… Read More
Too often, it takes a brush with a serious health issue to spur someone to take better care of themselves. For Amanda Nigg, it took a life-changing event to spur her farm-fit business. On this episode of the Fit Farmer podcast, Fit Farmer meets Farm Fit Momma as Gary Chambers is joined by Nigg to… Read More
We all know how many different facets of the agriculture industry there are. Whether it be cropping, livestock, retail, communications, education, or mechanics…the list goes on and on. When it comes to our careers, we all have to make choices, and sometimes we wonder about the other ones out there. So this week, on the… Read More
From November 22 – 24, producers from across the country will gather again for the Agricultural Excellence Conference after three years of the farm business management conference being held online. The conference, put on by Farm Management Canada, will be held in Canmore, Alta., and will tackle topics from optimizing growth potential, to taking at… Read More
Statistics Canada tells us that the average age of farmers is increasing. Of those farming in 2021, 60.5 per cent of farm operators were 55 years and up. Instead of looking at it as an unstoppable march to the older generation’s demise, let’s think about it from the standpoint of a chunk of the farming… Read More
An average increase of 8.1 per cent in the price of farmland in early 2022 in and of itself isn’t necessarily outlandish — but some of the provincial averages leading up to that number are rather mind-blowing. Year-over-year growth in Ontario topped 27 per cent, Manitoba is averaging 13.6 per cent growth, and Saskatchewan land… Read More
When Farm Credit Canada (FCC) released its first-half of 2022 farmland values report earlier this week, reaction was somewhat mixed, ranging from “Well, of course prices are still strong!” to “This kind of growth is absurd given current conditions.” As J.P. Gervais, senior economist with FCC explains, it’s important to look at the 8.1 per… Read More
Every year around this time, I start thinking it’s time to reflect. Reflect on the last year, the good, the not-so-great, and most of all — what I’m thankful for. I have started this more than a handful of times over the course of the last couple of days. So, I’ve turned on my favourite… Read More
Dairy farming is labour intensive 365-days of the year. It’s also an industry that can be both physically and technologically demanding all at once. Because of the round-the-clock care dairy farms require, it takes a certain kind of temporary work force to fill in when farmers need time off. Martin VandenHoven, of Relief Herdsmen Services,… Read More
A mid-year review of farmland values by Farm Credit Canada (FCC) suggests climbing interest rates and poor growing conditions in 2021 have done little to temper demand for Canadian farmland. “Strong farm cash receipts, buoyed by robust commodity prices, have managed to quell some of the profitability challenges from higher interest rates and farm input… Read More
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) is on the hunt for a new leader to take the reins of the organization in January 2023, allowing for a transition period from the current leadership. The move comes as executive director Andrew Graham has announced his plans to retire in June 2023, after 33 years… Read More
The current president and CEO of Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Ltd. (Gay Lea), Michael Barrett has announced his retirement, effective January 31, 2023. Barrett has been with Gay Lea for 22 years, serving as president and CEO since 2014, The board of directors has announced that Suzanna Dalrymple will sept in to the role effective… Read More
As the commodity markets continue to hinge on the outcomes of several global factors, the glass-half-full approach is honing in on corn and what looks to be an upswing, as we look at the December charts. Slow and steady may win the corn race with consultants staying optimistic that a rebound is on the horizon…. Read More