In 2023, the Canadian Bar Association reported that $53 billion worth of land is expected to change hands as farmers retire over the next decade. Despite this, 88 per cent of farms lack written succession plans, and by 2033, 40 per cent of Canadian farmers will retire, marking a significant transition in Canadian agriculture. Additionally, […] Read more
Tag Archives Perspectives on Management — page 2

Take action on mental health
The first part of the busy season is (mostly) in the rear-view mirror, so you may be taking stock of how your operation performed and are planning improvements in the next few months. As you analyze your operation, take time to check in with your team. Long hours in the tractor and late nights calving […] Read more

Use care and intention when forming a transition team
No two transition plans are the same. That is obvious to anyone who has read about the subject or has partially or completely navigated through the process. However, there are commonalities among lots of families and farms that manage through this important stage of the business lifecycle. One of those is that you will likely […] Read more

Variety of factors go into determining an asset’s worth
In my many years of work helping farm families to enhance their businesses, I often am asked questions such as, “how can I justify paying the currently high market prices for (insert agricultural asset here) to be able to grow or maintain my operations?” or “how are others able and willing to pay such high […] Read more

Opportunities are on the horizon: is your farm team ready?
The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council recently published its labour market forecast, Sowing Seeds of Change. The report goes into detail on some of the workforce challenges our industry will face between now and 2030. Producers say recruitment is becoming more difficult because of a lack of skilled labourers, the nature of the work (manual […] Read more

Developing strategy is hard because it takes discipline
On Dec. 31, 2023, Terry Betker, founder of Backswath Management, stopped writing for The Western Producer after 13 years. The team at Backswath has big shoes to fill as we take over the reins from Terry. Our voices will be different than his, of course, but we look forward to writing about various topics including, […] Read more

Columnist signs off, but knows ‘I didn’t get it all done’
Are you approaching retirement, or are at a stage where you can see it on the horizon? Maybe you know someone in that situation, or maybe you aren’t thinking about that yourself but people close to you think you should be. If you’re struggling to figure out how to move forward, it may make sense […] Read more

Legacy risk formula and farm management
I met Joe Kluender at a conference in Sacramento, California, years ago. He is now retired from a well-respected career in farm business management consulting. His company, Farm Family Dynamics, was located in Minnesota. He and I collaborated on different things. The main thrust of the following article is taken from work originated by Joe. […] Read more

Farmers can takes steps to increase borrowing chances
I teach a course in the University of Manitoba’s ag diploma program that has an emphasis on lending and how financial management information factors into lending processes and decisions. Half to two-thirds of the students typically have plans to return to the farm. The balance either plan to enter the agriculture industry or are unsure […] Read more

Does green mean go? Maybe amber is a better colour
I have the enjoyable privilege of driving my young granddaughter around Winnipeg, where she and I live. Like every youngster her age, she’s super observant and not shy in telling me what to do and where to turn to get to our destination. She’ll tell me when she thinks I’ve gone the wrong way and […] Read more