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 moreTag Archives retirement
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
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
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
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
Grandchildren prompt move to the city
Gaylord and Lois Mierau's transition from active farming to renting out land and now selling the land and retirement to another province was not made in haste. With neither of their two children wanting to return to the farm, the decision was inevitable.
Farm couple insists on staying put
Vic and Winnie Rowley are in their mid- and late 80s; they want to stay on their central Alberta farm as long as they can
CLIVE, Alta. — At 88 and 86 years old, Vic and Winnie Rowley have no intention of retiring and moving off the farm. “I like to go to town in the morning for coffee and that’s it,” said Vic, from his farm north of Clive, Alta. “I don’t think I’d like living in town. It […] Read more
Move to town next step in retirement transition
Alberta couple recently sold the rest of their bison and a half section of farmland and organized their spring farm auction
At the end of April, the couple held an online auction and sold their antiques, fuel tanks, sprayers, bison-handling equipment, stock waterers, vehicles and a life-time collection of odds and ends from the farm. When buyers came to look at the auction items, whether it was an iron, cream separator or lantern, it all sparked a conversation.
Budgeting for retirement starts with honesty
The first step is knowing what expenses a farmer has and taking a good look at how those expenses are likely to change
Retiring can mean big changes for any Canadian senior and there is work in financially preparing for the change. For Canadian farmers, an early start and an educated look at financial needs can mean more money in their pockets. Patti Durand, an agriculture transition specialist with Farm Credit Canada, works with retiring farmers. Many farmers […] Read more
Farming, taxes and retirement
Taxation often makes up the largest expense and accounts for the largest loss of wealth in the lives of many farm families, particularly during retirement years, says Donavon Tofin, a tax specialist with Retiring Farmers in Saskatoon. Over a farming career that spans two, three or more decades, farmers defer income into the latter years. […] Read more
