Planning for the next generation to potentially take over or deciding what comes next for your farm business can be very tricky. Not as tricky as not having a plan, however, so even if the farm business is pretty young, it still pays to ask some key questions. Trevor MacLean, a partner with MNP’s agriculture… Read More
Category: AgExcellence
Farm Management Canada held its annual Agricultural Excellence Conference last month at Canmore, Alta., where Michele Rogalsky was announced as the 2022 recipient of the Wilson Loree Award. The award, now in its 20th year, honours individuals or groups who have made an extraordinary contribution to advancing agricultural business management practices in Canada. Rogalsky, of… Read More
Policy makers affect agriculture from the ground up so it makes the most sense to have growers involved in policy making. But whose job is it to make sure growers’ voices are heard? Dean Roberts with Canadian Canola Growers Association was at Farm Management Canada’s 2022 AgExcellence conference to discuss how growers can get involved… Read More
What makes a good farmer, and what makes a great farmer? Shea Ferster and Colin Wenngatz of MNP say through their research, the difference comes down to data — and utilizing data with intention. Farmers know that by doing things at the right time, at the right place, in the right way, is the key… Read More
Many continuing to get familiar with the term IoT, which stands for Internet of Things. Any device that connects to the cloud — whether it be smartwatches, smart TVs, smart thermostats, etc. — falls under the IoT category. Examples of IoT already exist in the agriculture industry, says Daniel Portela, director of product and services… Read More
Succession planning isn’t just for farms — it’s important for every business. A few years ago, Josée Lemoine brought her business, Pivot Performance, into the Backswath Management fold. As planned, Backswath founder Terry Betker is now stepping down (but not away) from leading the business, as Lemoine will step up to lead the company as… Read More
It’s a stressful world out there, there’s no doubt about it. Whether it be personal stress, emotional stress, or financial stress…the list goes on. One of the stressors we do have some power to dial down a bit, says Stuart Person, senior vice president of MNP, is financial stress. This can be done through three… Read More
Looking at our calendars for the next few weeks and into the first quarter of 2023 makes it feel like we are back to pre-pandemic levels of travel. While our travel schedules here at RealAgriculture may have gone back to the same as “before,” how winter conferences are conducted has evolved. One of the examples… Read More
Running any business is a challenge, but running a family business and managing different personality styles carries with it a special kind of obstacle, as team mates love each other but also need to like each other. Greg Lingelbach is a Small Business Chair of TEC Canada, a business coaching and peer mentorship organization. He… 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
AgriStability, the whole farm, business risk management program has been in place for Canadian farmers for 16 years. In that time, it’s been maligned and criticized, and it continues to be subject to an ongoing tug-of-war between federal and provincial politicians. But with a new ag policy framework to be unveiled for 2023, changes to the… Read More
2021 has been a tough weather year. From prolonged drought and excessive heat, to the flooding witnessed in recent weeks in British Columbia — weather disasters have had a tremendous impact on Canadian farms and agriculture businesses. Erik Davies, from Barefoot Consulting, has spent his career working on disaster recovery and risk management issues. Last month… Read More
One challenge that many farmers face is how to pass the reins of an operation to a successor and how to get out of the way, but not go away. Dick Wittman learned plenty of valuable lessons managing a family-operated 20,000 acre crop, cattle, and timber operation in northern Idaho. He now heads Wittman Consulting, specializing… Read More
Many Canadian beef cow-calf operators are not just surviving, they’re thriving. That’s one of the key takeaways from the first report produced by the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network, which was established in the spring of 2021. Made up of cow-calf operations from across Canada, the network of producers is working with Canfax Research Services… Read More
Turn on Bloomberg, CNBC, or Fox News and just about every mainstream news outlet is talking about inflation. But how worried should farmers or ranchers be about inflation? In some ways, farmers or ranchers may be set up to benefit from inflation, says Shawn Hass of RBC Dominion Securities, in this interview with Shaun Haney… Read More