Communicate better with your farm lawyer

Communicate better with your farm lawyer

Lawyers have lots of experience and wisdom but they can’t read minds

Lawyers are the brunt of many jokes, but if you want to have a great succession outcome you better have a great communication plan with your farm’s lawyer! Ontario lawyer Sarah Jacob shared her experiences at a CAFA (Canadian Association of Farm Advisors) update. Would you like to save time and money in front of your […] Read more


There are three outcomes of alcoholism: jail, insanity and death. Get help for yourself or someone you love.

A sober message about sobriety

Eat, drink, be merry, but there are some times when we need to get serious

It was about 30 years ago this fall I drove a good friend to an alcohol treatment centre in Indian Head, Sask. I didn’t even know at the time he had a drinking problem. But he did and his employer did. So he went for a 28-day, dry out, get-your-head-on-straight treatment program. Pine Lodge is […] Read more

Solving problems with life insurance

Solving problems with life insurance

Life insurance, combined with fixed value corporate shares can solve succession problems

This month, I asked the experts a very direct question: “Can my incorporated farm business pay my personal life insurance premiums?” The answer was reasonably clear: Certainly, your farm corporation can pay your personal insurance premiums, but in general you will pay personal income tax on the premium amounts because they are a personal benefit to you. […] Read more


Get the most from your accounting

Tax Planning: Accrual financial statements provide the best for management decisions

Accrual is the way to go with farm financial statements, according to a farm accounting specialist. “Cash accounting only measures cash, and that has nothing to do with profitability,” says Beverly Johnson, a partner at KPMG Enterprise in Saskatoon. Accrual accounting is the measure of profitability, she says. Johnson has been a farm accountant for […] Read more

Changes coming to capital gains taxes

2017 federal tax rules changes are right around the corner. Are you prepared?

If you are a farm business owner considering a sale of capital assets such as land or quota in the next few years, there are some proposed tax changes coming into effect that you should know about today. Two changes have been approved as of the March 2016 federal budget announcement. These will take effect […] Read more


Ontario realtor Murray Gibbons says we’ll see some British farmers relocating to Canada after Britain leaves the European Union.

Guarding Wealth: Heading to the colonies

After Brexit, some Brits may be taking a look at Canadian farmland

British farmers’ interest in moving to Canada is rising in the wake of the U.K.’s June vote to leave the European Union. The Economist, a British newsweekly, reported that the urge to move somewhere else among all residents of the United Kingdom is at “an all-time high,” spiking dramatically as it became obvious that Britain’s […] Read more




Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith’s bill to tighten animal cruelty legislation in Canada has been voted down in the Commons on second reading. (NErskine-Smith.liberal.ca)

Bill to tighten cruelty laws downed in Commons

A federal private member’s bill meant to tighten animal cruelty laws in Canada — alarming farm organizations and energizing animal welfare groups en route — has gone the way of most private members’ bills. Bill C-246, introduced in February by Toronto Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith and given first reading, died Wednesday in the House of […] Read more