Why Should I Be A Better Listener?

What if I showed you a free tool that you could implement today that would have the potential to make your farm 21 per cent more profitable, without spending a dime? This tool was used by U. S. farm journalist John Phipps and he said his business generated more income as a result. It was […] Read more

Get To Know Your MENA

The Middle East and North Africa region is made up of 24 nations, ranging from Western Sahara in the extreme west to Iran in the east, with Turkey as the northern border and Somalia at the southern tip (see map). While seemingly geographically diverse, these countries are grouped together due to significant commonality of language […] Read more


A Farming For Fitness Strategy

I was going to start my new lifestyle/fitness/exercise program this morning, but then I had to write this column so now it will likely be tomorrow or even next Monday before I really get at it. Monday is always the best day to make major lifestyle changes. I am a morning person so I have […] Read more

Look Beyond Government Pensions For Retirement Income

How prosperous will your retirement be? That depends on how generous and dependable public pensions and government services will be. Many lucky folks will have private investments and prosperous farms and will, therefore, be relatively less dependent on the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security. But those services will be the great levelers of […] Read more


Want Help? – for Apr. 19, 2010

Grainews is looking for farmers with troublesome financial questions. We will protect your privacy. We insist on examining real situations, but we DO NOT use real names or even identify your hometown. You do not have to pay to participate in this article. If you have a financial question, send your name and your question […] Read more

Plan To Die Another Day

$10,000 ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS INTERMEDIATE ASSETS TOTAL LONG TERM ASSETS LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES TOTAL INTERMEDIATE LIABILITES LONG TERM LIABILITES Cash Grain Prepaid inputs Machinery Breeding stock Land Buildings $1,000,000 $100,000 $600,000 $150,000 $800,000 $150,000 $2,210,000 Operating loan Term loan Mortgages $350,000 $50,000 $200,000 $600,000 Last weekend we were out to see Jimmy Bond race his […] Read more


Breaking Up (With Advisors) Is Hard To Do

Firing an advisor is tough to do but if you want to do the “tough things right” as a farm manager, sometimes you have to let go of folks who are not giving you the service and quality of work you need to have a profitable business I spent time with 70 farmers in Alberta […] Read more

The Ins And Outs Of Cash Flow Projections

Once you have the cash flow projection worksheet completed, scan across the bottom and look for the largest number — that will be how much operating loan you need In my last article (March 22 issue) I talked about some of the sources of credit for operating expenses and how to manage them properly. In […] Read more


How Soil N Is Like Money

I recently read an article in a farm magazine that made the point that nitrogen (N) is the biggest and most important of our farm inputs — and it is never far from the mind of a modern farmer. Let us try to explain the intricate workings of Mother Nature’s N cycle in comparison to […] Read more

The Prices Are Falling! The Prices Are Falling!

Chicken Little is wandering through the forest when suddenly and quite dramatically an acorn falls on her head. Her immediate reaction is that “the sky is falling.” She then runs frantically through the forest announcing to everyone she sees that there is undeniable empirical evidence that the sky is falling. Based on an assumption that […] Read more