Lesley Kelley smiles for a photo while working with her grain tester in her shop, tools hang on the peg board wall in the background.

Life’s transitions can be challenging but rewarding

From retirement to adapting operations, today’s farmers are making transitions; here’s how two farmers used them to grow

The agriculture industry is grappling with change, perhaps more than ever before, which is why it’s also more important than ever for farmers to understand how to successfully navigate transitions, both professional and personal.




Leighton Kolk standing in front of a pen with some cattle in it.

Good governance, respect help farm transitions

Kolk Farms has made sure strong procedures are in place to ensure that transition and succession are done properly

Transition is nothing new for the Kolk family of southern Alberta. Since the farm was established in the 1950s, it has moved from one generation to the next and one commodity to another.


A close-up of a tax/benefits form with a pen sitting on it as well as a wallet that has a number of large denomination bills - based on their colour - sticking out of it.

Tax not sole basis for succession plans

A tax expert says how much tax one might have to pay should not be the first consideration when drafting a farm transition plan

No one wants to pay more taxes than necessary, but an expert says tax shouldn’t be the only thing people worry about when succession planning.

Farmers’ Bridge provides online training and assessments for families that want to develop a farm transition plan. | Screencap via loft32.ca

Farm transition service offered

Loft32, an agricultural communications company, has launched a new farm transition service. Called Farmers’ Bridge, it provides online training and assessments for families that want to develop a farm transition plan. A series of three to five minute videos feature experts answering common succession questions such as “what is Canada’s farm rollover rule” and “what’s […] Read more

The Mappin family standing in a field.

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