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 moreStories by Mary MacArthur
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
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
Rodeo photographer has many stories to share
Alberta man found another way to revel in the excitement of the rodeo ring by trading in the back of a bull for a camera
CAMROSE, Alta. — Rodeo is not only dangerous for the riders. Sometimes the arena gets rough for the photographers. A horse and rider fell on Ken Marcinkoski while he was changing film in the player’s box of a Didsbury, Alta., rodeo. He needed stitches in the butt after a horse raced past and kicked as […] Read more
Farmers think about next generation
Seidlitz family knows it will be important to put plans down in writing if next generation wants to carry on the operation
BETHUNE, Sask. — The Seidlitz family seems to reach back more than one generation for land transfers. Henry Seidlitz bought his farmland from his grandmother and Henry’s son, Bill, bought his farmland from his grandfather. “I am not sure what will happen for the next generation. It has worked well up to now. I don’t […] Read more
Transition starts by deciding who wants to farm
A good place to start when beginning a farm succession plan is to determine what every family member intends to do in the future
THORHILD, Alta. — Six years ago Harry and Barb DeWindt ordered their three daughters and families to a mandatory meeting at the farm with no hints about the topic. “We are all sitting around the table. One said, ‘are you dying?’ No, I just want to ask you one question all at the same time. […] Read more
Fair transition can require creativity
Estate planning specialist says families must recognize that everyone involved in the process has different perspectives
LACOMBE, Alta. — When farm families need strong medicine to help solve their farm estate challenges, they call the Farmacist. Reg Shandro has talked to farm clients for more than 20 years, helping to find the correct remedy for a successful farm transition. Shandro has broken his estate planning into four themes — perspective, fair, […] Read more
Cover crop blend helps keep forage in rotation
A grain and cattle producer from Saskatchewan calls a mixture of 15 different crop varieties ‘Mother Nature’s blueprint’
GALAHAD, Alta. — Cattle producers across the Prairies are beginning to use a mix of several different seed varieties in a single cover crop for high-quality feed, said an agrologist during a field day. “Farmers are looking at it for better yields and high quality feed,” said Adam Smith, sales manager for Covers and Co. […] Read more
Daikon radish cover crop acts as natural tillage
Farmer who produces the crop for seed says walking in a field in which it has grown feels like walking on a marshmallow
NEW NORWAY, Alta. — Fields of yellow-flowered canola are common across the Prairies, but a 50-acre field of white-flowered radish is a car stopper. Last year Ryan Mowat grew an eight-acre plot to see if the daikon radish, or forage or tillage radish, would grow and set seed at his central Alberta farm. It was […] Read more
Conservation easement a family affair
Ranching couple waited to make a decision on a conservation easement until their children were old enough to participate
A decision to apply a conservation easement to about 2,000 acres of native grassland and protect it forever was put on hold until Terri and Brad Mappin’s teenage children could be part of the discussion. “It was something important for the kids to understand the implications of it,” said Terri. The family doesn’t know if […] Read more
