Example
What does managing for financial success mean to you? Is it simply a function of more and more money? If that resonates for you, and you own farmland in Western Canada, your “success” — your wealth — will have increased substantially over the past 10 years as farmland values soared. But then, we all know […] Read moreStories by Terry Betker, PAg
Modern farm transition can be a never-ending process
Here’s a farm and family situation that is not unusual. Two brothers have been farming together for years. Let’s say that they’re mid-40s and have been farming for 20 to 25 years. They started out farming with their parents. Things generally went well with the farming part, but there wasn’t much of a plan for […] Read more
Striving for operational excellence hard but worthwhile
When you think about excellence, what comes to mind? I suspect for many people, a follow-on question would be why does it matter? I think it would depend on what we’re talking about. Excellence in sports would be quite different than excellence in wood working, for example. Both would have elements of subjectiveness attached even […] Read more
Glass half empty or half full? It matters to farm business
Is the glass you’re looking at half full or half empty? I think farmers are inherently optimistic, even though when you talk to them, you’ll hear things aren’t going well. Weather, prices, employees and maybe family can be challenging and can dominate a farmer’s mindset. But it seems to me that anticipating next year will […] Read more
Solution to cash flow challenges unique to each operation
How is it that at the end of each month, the bank account is empty? That’s a question that haunts the great majority of Canadians of all ages. Of course, there can be many reasons. For individuals and families struggling with this seemingly perpetual reality, it makes sense to look at where the money went. […] Read more
Hospitality on the farm transcends time and generations
What I’m about to share speaks volumes about the fabric of Canadian farm families. It is something everyone who is involved in agriculture knows, but perhaps takes it for granted at times. Every once in a while, something will happen that should cause us to pause, reflect and celebrate the contribution farm families make to […] Read more
Farm families should talk about their accumulated wealth
I attended a high school class reunion a week ago. One of my classmates was pretty excited about recently winning $15,000 in a lottery draw and recounted how she had spent the surprise windfall. We all remembered another classmate who had won $1 million in a provincial lottery a few years ago. He talked about […] Read more
Observational learning key to successful farm transition
For sake of a discussion, let’s differentiate succession planning from transition planning. Let’s consider succession planning to be about a situation where there are no next generation family members who will be carrying on the family farm. Transition planning occurs when the next generation will be taking over the farm at some point. I think […] Read more
Don’t let go of your vision, remember that it got you here
Recently, I had an interesting communication exchange with a younger farm couple. They have a traditional farm but also some innovative diversification activity going on. They have a well-defined vision and are making excellent progress. Part of that communication included the following comments from the spouse, who is actively involved in the business. She wrote: […] Read more
It’s important to keep accurate track of grain inventory
I remember kicking through the snow in the middle of winter, trying to find some decent-sized stones to throw against a granary when trying to figure out how much grain was in it. It wasn’t an exact science. The stone throwing technique was easier than putting up a ladder. Maybe safer too. The ladder was […] Read more
