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Leverage can provide a measure of risk on your farm. But make sure to consider the value of off-farm investments
When we work with clients, we almost always start by preparing a detailed balance sheet where we establish a fair market value of assets owned and the liabilities owed against them. This winter we met with three brothers that immigrated to Canada many years ago, Bu, Chu, and Fu. All three started farming and met with us to […] Read moreLots of landowners plan to return to the farm later in life. Funding retirement and leaving a legacy will require some planning
Stephen, as we’ll call him, started an 800 acre mixed beef and grain farm in central Manitoba in the late 1970s. By 2002, Stephen had had enough. He sold his beef cow herd and 320 acres of farm land and headed to Alberta to work as a welder. Stephen saved little of his wages over […] Read moreWhat’s next? For off-farm investments, a solid answer to that question will make the difference between statements that bleed red ink and those that soar into the black
World stock markets are soaring, but we’re not out of the woods yet. There are signs of recovery in Europe where the European Central Bank (ECB) has calmed stock and bond markets. In New York, where modest trend shifts turn into stampedes, the omens are positive. And in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 average appears […] Read moreSome farmers are taking advantage of high prices to sell part of the farm, then enjoying farm life with less work and no debt
So far this year I have heard of at least half a dozen farmers who sold off part of their farm, kept farming debt-free and had big bucks in the bank. One farmer who did this was out of debt at age 41. Another was pushing 50 and had a million bucks in the bank. […] Read more
