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Farm parents who plan to retire on a beach in Mexico need to tailor their family’s succession talks differently than if they’re going to stay on the farm.  |  Getty Images

Beach or barn? Depends on the retirement plan

The direction that a farm family’s succession planning takes will often be determined by the retiring parents’ future plans

Fall is usually when the phone starts to ring and farmers want to talk about succession, transition or sale, says Curtis Palichuk, managing partner of Wilde Advisory Group in Vegreville, Alta. When farmers come into the accounting office weary from harvest, they are reminded that the best farm transition and succession is a process that […] Read more

Ed Gaudet, who retired from farming at the age of 83, stands in his Camrose back yard.  |  Mary MacArthur photo

Farmer brought governance skills to the table

Alta. man started in pharmaceuticals while also putting together a farm that he will pass on to his daughter and son-in-law

CAMROSE, Alta. — Health rather than a grand retirement plan pushed Ed Gaudet away from the farm he loved. “I got off the combine Oct. 2, 2023, and two days later I was old. I was shuffling and a little faint in the head and walking kind of funny,” said Gaudet, 84, of Camrose. “That […] Read more

When he’s not operating a silage harvester or limo, Kevin Sustrik can be found behind the wheel of his Dodge Challenger.  |  Mary MacArthur photo

Alberta producer keeps on driving

From operating a bale wagon to driving a limo, this farmer stays on four wheels as he charts journey into the future

GIBBONS, Alta. — The road to Kevin Sustrik’s farm retirement is driven with a luxury limousine. During the summer, Sustrik spends most days on his silage harvester, travelling around central Alberta doing custom silage work for other farmers. On the weekends, he drives brides, grooms, concert goers and high school graduates in his luxury coaches. […] Read more


An agricultural drone company takes up some of Milt Olfert’s time since he sold his dairy quota.  |  Photo supplied by Milt Olfert

Farmer transitions from milk to drones and beer

Milt and Tash Olfert leave the dairy business and start two new ventures: one in the air and the other in the brewery

Two years ago, Milt and Tash Olfert decided to sell their dairy cows and quota and leave the dairy business. The southern Manitoba couple ran a dairy until their two children were in their 20s and could decide whether they wanted a farming career. “We could tell when they were in high school the interest […] Read more

Les Wall and Jared and Karleen Clark of KCL Cattle stand in front of a pen of feeder cattle. The family is working with experts to help the farm transition go smoothly.  |   Mary MacArthur photo

Feedlot transition takes many steps

Family hopes to make process smoother by using a business tool, hiring a facilitator and holding weekly team meetings

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Les Wall has ownership in three feedlots and a desire to retire, so the Wall family knew they had to get serious about succession planning. The family spent years planning and thinking about the future, and then took a giant step forward by joining EOS Traction, a business tool designed to bring […] Read more


Dean Durand, a former farmer and oilfield controller, spent hours programming the malt house to run as automatically as possible. | Mary MacArthur photo

Malt keeps the wheels turning

NEW NORWAY, Alta. — Low prices and a busy off-farm job convinced Dean Durand to sit down with his parents in 2005 and question why they were still farming. “Canola was priced at $6 a bushel and barley was $2 and it didn’t make any sense. It was a tough one. We sat down at […] Read more

Trevor and Nickie, post-sale.  |  Trevor & Nickie Doty photo

Retirement decision day: why wait any longer?

A post-harvest vacation from their grain farm helped give a farm couple the perspective and distance to make a decision

Carlyle, Sask. — A week after Trevor and Nickie Doty held their farm equipment sale they were on a flight to Mexico. “Right now we’re sitting in the kitchen of our condo looking out at the Pacific Ocean. It is beautiful here. Our aches and pains are all gone,” said Trevor of Carlyle, Sask. The […] Read more

Is there enough motivation to keep legacy intact or is it just easier to rent out to the neighbours? | Getty Images

Keep the farm together or pull it apart?

Farm transition, succession or estate plan is difficult, but posing scenarios or telling stories helps guide the discussion

At the end of October, Clint Fischer, an American farm estate and succession plan lawyer, posted the following comment to his X account. “You’re presented an opportunity to work for a retiring farmer and own the operation over time. What are your concerns? Not free, you’ll be buying into the operating entity at a discount. […] Read more


Ray and Myra Lestus, of Strome, Alta., stand in front of their farm sign. The couple retired from farming early with no regrets.  |  Mary MacArthur photo

No regrets, and no more anxiety

STROME, Alta. — It wasn’t until Ray Lestus grew his last crop and sold his farm machinery that he realized how much anxiety he felt when he was farming. “The worries. You don’t realize how much you worry about everything,” said Letus. In the last few years, it was his job to race around fields […] Read more

A hand places a wooden cube with an "A" and "B" side after similar cubes spelling out "PLAN"

Best transition plan is one that is implemented

Many farmers spend a lot of time developing what they think is the perfect plan but remain hesitant to put it into action

BRANDON — Farm families don’t need the best farm transition plan, they need the second best plan, said a farm management consultant. “Second best doesn’t sound very good. Nobody wants to be second, but if it means it is an implemented plan, then that is better. An implemented plan that gets changed and tweaked as […] Read more