Count your blessings, and take the first steps to stop worrying about the pain of not knowing.

Froese: How to give thanks for getting unstuck

Imagine how good it will feel when you start to take positive action

October for farmers is a “get ’er done” kind of season where fall work is pressing and late-season crops are harvested, cattle are moved, and the list goes on. Last March when the Great Pause hit us, we were advised “not to waste a good crisis.” So on top of the routine things that we […] Read more

Farm Financial Planner: A COVID-19 plan could save the family farm

Farm Financial Planner: A COVID-19 plan could save the family farm

In a term of illness, a succession plan can provide for farm management

Death may be inevitable, but the new reality of COVID-19 is that it can strike long before the end of a planned retirement. Conventional preparations like having a will and a plan for distribution of farmland and machinery, inventory, and financial assets, such as stocks, bonds and bank accounts, are usually done as distant contingency […] Read more


Procrastination is killing agriculture. Way too many families are drifting with no clarity of expectations of each other or the future.

Froese: How to help founders get transition plans moving

Now is the time to check your mindset and consider how you can create certainty for yourself and the next generation

Long harvest hours give you time to think about what is working on your farm and what needs to be tweaked. Our thoughts drive our actions. It’s time to check your mindset to consider how you can create more certainty for yourself as the owner, and the next generation that wants a piece of equity […] Read more

Diana 
and Len Desharnais on a recent trip to Germany.

Meet your farming neighbours: Len and Diana Desharnais

The Desharnais family farms in the Peace River area of northern Alberta

Every farm has its own story. No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone starts off farming in their own way and every farm has its own combination of family and hired staff who make decisions and keep things running. Yet, even after considering all of the details, farmers are more alike than they […] Read more


What’s planned for farm shows and conferences this fall and winter

Several events have just shut down for the year, others have gone on-line

Well seven months into this pandemic thing and if you were expecting that life would be getting back to normal by now, well it isn’t — not completely anyway. I think the world and certainly Canadians are getting a bit more comfortable with COVID-19 protocols and social distancing requirements, which is a good thing because […] Read more

Farmers are faced with more complex challenges than ever before.

How can you prepare your farm for the post-COVID future?

Three actions you can take to prepare for the new reality

Over the last decade, Canada’s agriculture industry has navigated changing consumer behaviours, adverse weather, globalization and trade challenges, digital innovation, and a shift in workforce demographics and labour supply. These forces of change have already been reshaping the industry and the conversations around it. In our report, Farmer 4.0: How the Coming Skills Revolution can […] Read more


Froese: Vision for family, farm and ownership — What now?

Froese: Vision for family, farm and ownership — What now?

With the ripple effect of the pandemic now is the time to redefine where you’re at

Farmers are problem solvers and fixers, but I don’t think we anticipated the ripple effect of a pandemic on our families, our farms and our future. I’ve spent the last few weeks anchored at my farm office calling out to farmers, listening, and drilling deep to share a well of hope. On a Zoom call […] Read more

Toban Dyck: Daily update

This quick note is not profound, but it does amazing work

I send my dad a farm update every weekday morning. This is a new habit, and I love it. I suspect he doesn’t mind, either. I’m proud to be at a stage in my farming trajectory where I am able to observe and articulate priorities in a way that lets those around me know I’ve […] Read more


Froese: Risk, choice and opportunity — your farm’s transition

Froese: Risk, choice and opportunity — your farm’s transition

Start by looking at the challenges, creating solutions and beginning the process with a trusted adviser

Late last year I decided to stop listening to sad farm transition stories, proposing a new hashtag for Twitter #healingstories4ag. “Succession planning would be considerably less difficult if the long-term stability of the agricultural industry was more predictable. Given the current hurdles, long-term profitability is very uncertain! I do not wish to transfer an operation […] Read more

Froese: Tips to help you communicate

Froese: Tips to help you communicate

Research shows families who have regular business meetings are more profitable

It warms my coaching heart to sit in a workshop with a group of smart women in agriculture who truly want better communication on our farms. Some of these tips I’m sharing were generated by FCC’s Patti Durand, my friend and a great transition specialist at Connect Ag 2019. (Watch FCC Focus on Farm Transition […] Read more