Mind Your Farm Business

Farming is such a diverse industry with so many operation types that add value to the industry. Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum (CYFF) was established in 1997, with the goal to assist young farmers with information while exchanging ideas that lead to progressive strategies, to ensure farming success in Canada. The organization hosts speakers and innovative... Read More

Creating an advisory board for your farm business can be an effective way to bring outside experience, perspective, and expertise on to the farm, without adding to the management team. As some farms are learning, the overall size and complexity of the farm business has grown far beyond what just one, or a few people... Read More

Yield maps aren’t the only data points to collect and analyze. Farms generate all sorts of information that could be useful in determining profit, wasted time or resources, or identifying opportunity. The trouble is, some farms are either generating data with no clear means of using it, or are missing out on capturing simple data... Read More

Emotion, money, and legacy are three factors that can potentially contribute to a very bumpy farm business succession. A farm transition doesn’t have to end badly, but too often farm families ignore best practices for a succession, based on the illusion that your farm is different from everyone else’s. While every farm is unique in... Read More

If you’re frustrated by how government support programs are designed or overwhelmed by navigating the paperwork, you’re certainly not alone. The numbers speak for themselves — enrolment in the main suite of federal programs has been dropping steadily for years. A recent letter from the Standing Committee on Agriculture to the Minister of Agriculture and... Read More

In an era of “cheap” money, farms could take advantage to solve working capital shortages, set aside savings, or plan for a business transition. But debt restructuring, or taking on more debt even at low rates, is not without its pitfalls. For this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, Terry Betker, president, and... Read More

What happens if you, someone else on the farm, or one of your employees gets sick or must self-isolate during the spring planting or calving season? It’s a scenario every farm should prepare for in the midst of the current pandemic, says Jennifer Wright. A cough or a runny nose is usually not an excuse... Read More

What carries greater downside risk: having to sell in a down market to generate cash flow, or pre-selling a crop in increments? The short answer is it depends, but the in-depth explanation is that panic or stressed sales by their nature are rarely the most profitable. Pre-selling some crop carries a risk, yes, but there... Read More

At some point, likely every farmer has been frustrated with markets and pricing, and thought about moving past commodity production and up the value chain. But as many quickly learn, direct marketing, dealing with processors, or even becoming a processor is not for everyone. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, Jeff Nonay, a... Read More

Working with family can be the most rewarding part of the farm business, but it also has the potential to be one of the most challenging aspects, full of emotion, relationship evolution, and conflict. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, host Shaun Haney is joined by Ed and Lyle Peters, father-son farm partners... Read More

There’s no doubt that the world of international trade has been rough and tumble the last while, but that doesn’t mean Canada shouldn’t continue to participate. Beyond just participating, Canada should be actively investing in agriculture’s major potential on the world stage now, and in the decades to come. It’s no secret to those in... Read More

It’s unlikely that anyone goes in to a marriage expecting it to fail, but the reality is that marriages do end, and when a farm business and farm property is involved it can get very messy, very quickly — It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of thinking of a pre-nuptial agreement as an... Read More

The good times in agriculture tend to happen in 40-year cycles. Unfortunately, for anyone kicking off a farming career this year, one of those cycles just ended. While the good times might be over, this particular up cycle lasted a particularly long time — and that may be why the downward swing has caught many... Read More

Behind the scenes, to front and centre, women have always played a critical role in farming and in the agriculture industry. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, host Shaun Haney speaks with three women from unique backgrounds and stages of their careers,  to talk about their perspective on the challenges and opportunities that... Read More

Trust is the basic building block of all relationships. You can’t have accountability, commitment, or constructive conflict without first having trust. A lack of trust or a breach of it is a business risk, but how do we first measure, then manage that risk? Trust, like the word strategy, is thrown around largely as a... Read More

Has anyone ever told you, “you have to have a plan”? For many small businesses, creating and monitoring a plan can be difficult, but if done right, a long-term plan will provide the tools for long-term success. In this Mind Your Farm Business podcast, Larry Martin, principal with Agri-food Management Excellence, and owner of Dr.... Read More

Economic health. Physical health. Environmental health. These are all factors we consider when looking at our overall health on the farm, but how often do we take a look at our mental health? We all know that farming is stressful, especially since it involves unpredictable variables such as weather, markets, and family. Farmers across the... Read More

There are some stubborn myths in agriculture — rain falls 90 days after fog, wheat should be seeded in bushels per acre, and there’s a tax advantage to leasing versus buying equipment. In reality though, each of these statements is at least somewhat false. Fog and rain are not correlated, wheat should be planted in... Read More

Who learns more from a mentorship — the mentor or the mentee? The answer may surprise you. As Deb Stark, former deputy minister of agriculture for Ontario, explains, a good mentoring relationship has value for all parties involved, but success requires communication and commitment from those involved. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business,... Read More

What is something you don’t know about your farm right now that you’d like to know? Is there technology out there to solve a particular problem you have? When it comes to navigating the very noisy space that is farm technology, Rob Saik, agrologist and agriculture technology leader, says these questions are a good place... Read More