How to get started on the succession road

How to get started on the succession road

If you’ve resolved to start transitioning the farm, consider these insights

The skills that farmers require to successfully navigate the retirement and transition process are not necessarily the same skills that built the business.



Gifts with a warm hand, not a cold one

Gifts with a warm hand, not a cold one

Seeds of Encouragement: Quietly hoping things somehow all work out when you die is asking for trauma later

Many readers fear greed and entitlement arising in any succession and inheritance discussions now, so they quietly hope things will just work out somehow when they die. “Let the kids work it out on their own” is the thought — which is like lighting a match to gas.


Janos Botschner, a researcher with the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, speaks at CropConnect in Winnipeg on Feb. 12.

Farming community needs to talk more about cybersecurity

The technology now brought to bear in farming makes farms more vulnerable to digital threats

Glacier FarmMedia — Talking about cybersecurity not only raises awareness in the farming community — it can help reduce the stigma suffered by those victimized by cyberattacks. That was the message from Janos Botschner, a behavioural scientist and researcher with the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance. Botschner spoke at the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg on Feb. […] Read more

Editor’s Rant: Get lost, grandkid

Editor’s Rant: Get lost, grandkid

If we don’t talk openly about scams we’re condemned to have them repeated on us

It’s not like I marked the exact date or time on the calendar, but otherwise I still clearly recall the day I officially got old. It wasn’t while having to catch my breath after taking the stairs. It wasn’t from the first time my feet got sore standing in line, being asked if I wanted […] Read more


Israel-based Galileo Wheel has just introduced an airless version of its CupWheel technology for skid steers.

Galileo Wheel introduces airless SkidCup skid steer tires

Improved traction and puncture-free performance with new tire design

In 2011, at Agritechnica in Germany, Galileo Wheel’s co-founder Avishay Novoplanski debuted a completely new ag tire design for tractors, called the CupWheel. It uses a unique concave sidewall, giving the tread surface a flatter, track-like contact with the ground, which the company says offers a 30 per cent increase in traction over regular tires. […] Read more

Any disruption to a supply chain can affect the delivery of a newly manufactured product.

Remember risks as well as rewards in new equipment

Investing in a new model means you’re among the first to discover its hiccups

Bringing new equipment onto a farm can be an exciting and productive change to the way the farm operates. Having the latest in horsepower, capacity and technology can make the farm more efficient and easier to run. If one has the luxury to pay for it, it can be an obvious choice to order the […] Read more


Farm building code updates will drive insurance increases

Farm building code updates will drive insurance increases

Added costs such as fire separation areas and bracing affect replacement value

Glacier FarmMedia — An unintended consequence of planned upgrades to Canada’s National Farm Building Code (NFBC) may be higher farm insurance rates. That’s because, regardless of how the insured structure is built, if destroyed it will have to be rebuilt to the new and more complex code. An Ontario member of the Canadian Farm Building […] Read more

How we connect with others, such as our parents, depends on variables including our cultural backgrounds, our personal styles — and our external stressors.

On-farm communication improves when we start with connection

Seeds of Encouragement: Where you stand with your offspring comes from their relationships to you

Elaine writes: In so many of the families we coach, we see communication breakdowns leading to escalation of conflicts. In some cases, using strategies that provide family members with the tools they need to have better communication can help — but in many cases a relationship between family members has broken down to the point […] Read more