By Terry Betker This is a fantastic time to be entering (or be in) the business world, because business is going to change more in the next 10 years than the last 50. We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the… Read More
Category: Succession Planning
By Terry Betker When the planets align and the growing season weather is perfect, and there are production shortfalls in other parts of the world and the markets respond positively, and when you’re able to price into market highs, life on the farm can be very rewarding. A possible scenario? Perhaps, but likely it’ll only… Read More
Stuck in some pricey land rent agreements? Worried that falling crop prices can support recent land payments? You’re not alone. Merle Good, farm business consultant and farm succession expert, is set to present at the very first CropConnect conference set for February 18 and 19, 2014 at Winnipeg, Man. In the audio interview below, Good… Read More
Maintaining good relationships should be a priority in any succession plan, but sometimes it’s hard to get past the financial and legal jargon associated with the process. For both reasons, a farm business should consider appointing a third party to mediate discussions. And, in the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to learn about some of your… Read More
If you haven’t yet registered for FarmTech, Rick Taillieu would like you to soon, because the event will likely sell out and you don’t want to miss this conference. Held at Edmonton’s Expo Centre and running from January 28 to 30, 2014, FarmTech features over 60 concurrent speakers, and you won’t want to miss the… Read More
Below are some of my thoughts about succession planning from this week at Agritrade in Red Deer, Alberta. Â It is very clear that farmers are not tired of this discussion based on the attendance at the AgriTrend Learning Center.If you cannot see the embedded audio player above, CLICK HERE Register to continue reading Join the… Read More
Feedback from last year’s Advanced Farm Management Program was overwhelmingly positive. So much so in fact, that the program has expanded to three different locations in Ontario. This year, Guelph, North Gower and Chatham, Ontario will host the program, giving participants in each location a chance to bring their farm management skills to the next… Read More
Land prices seem to have endless upward momentum. Farm Credit Canada’s latest land value estimates suggest some very impressive gains in values when taken on their own, but put those numbers over a three to five year span, and the bull run on prices seems unstoppable and nearly unbelievable in some cases. But it would… Read More
“Farm succession is a journey, not an event.” That’s the key message farm succession expert Len Davies has for farm families in the final episode of Agricultural Management Institute’s (AMI) new five-part video series. In the earlier episodes, four farm families shared their personal insights on what made their farm succession plans work. In the final episode,… Read More
“Farm succession can get heated,” says Thamesville, Ont., farmer Dennis Jack. “But you have to get on with life and deal with it or you will destroy your own life worrying about.” In this episode of the Agricultural Management Institute’s (AMI) new farm succession video series, Jack talks about his family’s succession struggles and how reaching… Read More
Many farmers consider the farm to be their retirement nest egg. Of course the farm will play a significant role in funding retirement, but relying solely on farm assets can create challenges when it comes to farm succession. “You can run into trouble if you put all your eggs in one basket,” says farm succession… Read More
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
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)Â 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