Mind Your Farm Business

Like Bachman Turner Overdrive says, you’re “Taking care of business and working overtime,” — but do you take time to care for you? In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, Chip Eichelberger, renowned motivational speaker, explains the importance of taking care of yourself in order to succeed in your business. Reflecting back on an event where he spoke... Read More

Capital assets don’t buy groceries. If this statement makes you scratch your head a little, you’re likely the older generation on the farm. If you read it and think, “Don’t I know it” you might be the in-coming generation, and very likely frustrated by the lack of clarity on how the farm’s equity and income... Read More

Believe it or not, the farm transition can actually be a joyful journey. But that can only happen once three things are established: Is the business going to continue? When would you like it to continue? (starting now, or with a reading of the will) Who will lead the business in the next phase? That’s... Read More

If we can’t manage what we can’t measure, how do we approach the very real risk of losing public trust in how food gets grown? “Public trust is one of those things where we don’t know the full value of it until we’ve lost it,” says Crystal MacKay, president of the Canadian Centre for Food... Read More

Which questions do you ask potential new hires? Where to you find your next star farm employee? Is the employee handbook up to date? If you laughed and thought, we don’t even HAVE an employee handbook, this podcast episode is for you. In this Mind Your Farm Business episode, host Shaun Haney takes us on... Read More

Perhaps more contentious than the buy versus rent debate is the question of when and why to incorporate the farm. The federal government proposed sweeping changes to how taxes were calculated for corporations last summer. The changes were met with significant push-back from the farm community, as the new rules would have a significant impact... Read More

No two farm business plans are identical. A young, aggressive producer focused on expanding likely needs a comprehensive business plan with detailed cash flow and business projections to satisfy investors and partners. On the other extreme, the business plan for an established farm with no children interested in taking over can be very simple —... Read More

Every farm succession plan starts and stops with the older generation. In most cases, it’s up to mom and/or dad to determine how and when the transition moves forward. For farm families who are stuck in that process, it’s usually not from a lack of desire to execute, but from paralysis — not knowing where... Read More

Many times we look at farm succession from a very holistic point of view, through a lens focused on the overall process and all the people involved. But this can make things very complicated. Sometimes we need to look at one generation at a time. What are their concerns/desires/needs in this process? In this Mind Your... Read More

Building a successful farm takes many years of hard work and dedication. That’s well understood. But what it takes to continue that success into the next generation is often forgotten, or put off until it’s too late. What comes next? What will happen to my business when I am no longer able to run it?... Read More

Risk — a four letter word that drives farmers crazy. As farmers, our chances of success are greatest when we know the risks we’re exposed to and hav emitigated risks that are in our control. To help us dive deeper into the topic of risk – specifically business risk and financial risk – RealAgriculture’s Shaun... Read More

If when you think of risk in farming you think only of uncontrollable things, like the weather and global trade, or only crop price slides, you’ve likely missed an opportunity to take a more proactive approach to risk management. While it’s easy to get overwhelmed by ‘what if’ scenarios and all the different forms of... Read More

The finding is staggering. A recent IPSOS Reid poll found that certain farms achieve five-times higher return on assets because of one key element. Perhaps more surprising is how accessible this element of a farm business is — it’s a written business plan. That number is impressive, but even more striking is the associated finding that... Read More

“One day, this will all be yours.” If this is the sum total of succession planning you’ve done as a farm owner, or if, as the son or daughter, you’ve heard this one too many times with nothing to show for it — the interview below is a must listen. On this episode of the... Read More

Family farms involve a complex interaction between two worlds — the family and the business, and both these worlds are impacted when a new person arrives. This person can be the glue that keeps things together, or the dynamite that blows things apart. We’re talking about what happens when a son or daughter-in-law marries into... Read More

As Canadian farms continue to grow, so does the need for talented employees who can help farmers reach their business goals. But how do you find and attract these individuals? And once you have them in your employ, how do you keep them? Human resource consultant Lynn Perry joins us for episode 20 of the... Read More

We often hear of the importance of trade, with headlines updating us on international trade deals. But, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. With each trade deal there are opportunities and risks, and it’s up to individual businesses, including farms, to assess how they could be impacted. “We’re a trading country and our agri-food sector depends... Read More

“Innovation” is a buzzword in today’s world, often associated with technology, but it’s not necessarily about gadgets, as our guest for this episode in the Mind Your Farm Business series points out. “Innovation really is about grabbing ideas from other parts of the planet or other ideas you see people doing and bringing that back... Read More

When thinking about risks to your farm, what comes to mind? Weather and market risks are usually at the top of the list, but there are many other areas where a farm business may be exposed. These risks are often unrecognized because nobody’s taken the time to go through an exercise of assessing risks and determining... Read More

Working capital is the king of financial metrics, especially during the bottom of a market cycle. A farm can have large swaths of land and other equity on its balance sheet, but if it doesn’t have cash or liquid assets to make monthly payments, the business will soon be in trouble. “A wheelbarrow full of... Read More