When should you start succession planning? The earlier the better, says farm succession expert Len Davies. In the second episode of the Agricultural Management Institute’s (AMI) new farm succession video series, Davies takes us to the Veenstra family farm near Port Colborne, Ontario. Here we meet Andy Veenstra who shares succession tips and strategies he used… Read More
Category: Succession Planning
What are the key steps that farm families need to consider when developing a farm succession plan? It’s a looming question for many farm families right now. To help in the process, the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI) has produced a new farm succession video series, viewed from the kitchen tables of Ontario farm families as… Read More
Tuesday nights are pretty important on Twitter if you’re involved in agriculture. Tuesday nights are #AgChat nights — a few hours of moderated conversation on a particular topic of interest for farmers, industry and anyone else interested in agriculture. Last night’s topic was farm business management. Farmers and aspiring farmers alike weighed in on questions… Read More
If you were given the choice between playing the game or sitting down together to come up with the rules of the game which would you pick? Here we see the inherent problem with the family business and the dilemma of succession planning. Unfortunately, we can play the game for years before we run into… Read More
Old MacDonald had a farm but apparently it is more common than expected. Along with Old Man Smith, and Old Joe there are many seniors still farming in Canada. With only 8.2% of the operators being younger than 35, the farmer pool over the age of 55 dwarfs its younger counterparts. Many times the lack… Read More
The best and the most valuable advice comes from people who have actually been in the situation that they’re giving advice about. So when a topic as touchy and as potentially difficult as succession comes up, you need that “first hand experience” type of advice. Lee Markert brought that advice to producers when he spoke… Read More
When it comes to succession planning, one of the most difficult things to do may be just getting the conversation started. No other topic can get defences up, arouse suspicions or cause divisions like the topic of succession if it’s not handled correctly. Having a pure business discussion with your parents or kids easily crosses the family… Read More
Over the past couple of days, I have been reading and seeing a bunch of different articles in relation to keeping young farmers on the farm and attracting first generation farmers. My question? Why is it any different than any other entrepreneurial business. I’m sure that there are tens of thousands of people across Canada… Read More
Christie Young is the Executive Director of FarmSmart and this week she has created some stir within the Canadian Agriculture industry by saying that our industry is not prepared for the coming mass farmer retirements. What has really caused the stir is her statement that the government has some sort of responsibility to ensure we prepare… Read More
The Succession Saga – Part Six By Dick Haney Anyone on the slippery side of 50 has I’m sure asked themselves the question, “What do I want my legacy to be and how will my time be remembered?” This is one of the most important life questions that one will ever attempt to answer and… Read More
The Succession Saga – Part Four By Dick Haney, Haney Farms We heard this weekend how yet another of our brave soldiers in Afghanistan had perished in the line of duty. This is never happy news and it is most unhappy at Christmas time and all of our thoughts and prayers go out to this… Read More
By Dick Haney Whether You are Entering or Exiting a Business as General Manager, Timing is Everything. “You got to know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” Probably many of you have identified these words as part of a song written by Kenny Rogers called… Read More
The Succession Saga – Part Two By Dick Haney The Prince Charles Syndrome is an affliction that affects not only Royal Families, but potentially your family business as well. The House of Windsor (The ruling English Monarchy) is arguably one of the most successful family businesses on the planet. Although the House of Windsor has… Read More
By Dick Haney Succession, or as some call it- Sucksession, the silent killer of small business, is potentially the Ebola disease of family business longevity. I am going to approach this topic from a different number of directions over the course of a number of weeks. This topic will be analyzed and dissected from the… Read More
It’s no secret or will it shock you if I told you that I think farmers are terrible at succession planning. If most of you reflected on your own personal situations I would assume you would say that you agree. The question that arises is, if we know this to be true, why do we… Read More