Glenn Cheater

There’s probably not a farmer in the country who hasn’t driven by a Tim Hortons and thought, “wouldn’t it be great to own one of those franchises?” Paul House can relate, only in reverse. “I usually take the back ways coming into the office,” says the former farm boy from Stoney Creek, Ont., near Hamilton. […] Read more

A $10,000 decision is small potatoes on many farms these days. Annual input bills run into six figures, while a major expansion can cost more than $1 million. Big numbers make for big doubts. Jack up your debt just before a cyclical downturn and you may not be in business when things turn around. Even […] Read more

If he wanted to, Ted Zettel could scare people away from ever wanting to join a co-operative. But he doesn’t. Rather, the chair of Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. is a passionate advocate of the co-op as a business model and a force for social good. “My dream would be to see farmer co-ops control everything […] Read more

With almost $250 million in annual sales, Mountain Equipment Co-op can afford to hire a celebrity athlete or two to hawk its lineup of outdoor clothing and equipment. However, the iconic retailer would rather sponsor activities such as Ontario’s Tour de Greenbelt, a family-oriented cycling event that offers a marshalled tour route through the countryside […] Read more

There are lots of reasons why new businesses fail. Sometimes though, it’s just a case of losing heart and giving up because things haven’t worked out as hoped. When things are stalled in your new farm enterprise, how long do you wait? When do fortitude and determination turn into folly and a blind refusal to […] Read more

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door. If that famous quote were true, there’d be a lot of rich farmers. Most farmers are always tinkering in their workshops, either modifying equipment or creating something new from scratch. Some of their inventions make it into commercial production but countless […] Read more

As a farmer, it’s natural to look at the retail price of a steak or a loaf of bread and think, “someone’s making a lot of money on this, but it’s sure not me.” This isn’t a complaint you’ll hear from the Price brothers. The brothers, five farm boys from Acme, Alta., are involved in […] Read more

Perhaps the low point for Guy Faber was watching a guy at a trade show in Germany throw a prototype canoe off a second-floor balcony. Faber was on a government-sponsored trade mission and looking for a way to reinvent his family’s 110-year-old manufacturing business. For four generations, the Fabers had made snowshoes, but after two […] Read more

Everyone has heard the old advertising slogan: sell the sizzle, not the steak. Well, when it comes to selling steak, nobody sizzles more than Stephen Alexander and his meat shop, Cumbrae’s. The place has achieved nearly legendary status in Toronto since Alexander opened his first location in 1994: high-end restaurants boast on their menus that […] Read more

There’s no magic formula for attracting and keeping good workers, but some employers seem to have the knack. Take Kris Mayerle, who has five permanent employees at his family’s 16,500 acre grain farm and seed cleaning plant near Tisdale, Sask., and a seasonal crew of six for his custom combining operation. One of those year-round […] Read more