How farmers can up their game

10 ways to run your farm more like a professional business

Farming is often described as both a lifestyle and a living. And and although not every farm is a small business, even a small farm is a business. That concept of running a business like a business, though, can often get lost in the day to day management of a farm operation, especially if there […] Read more

Alberta consultant, Merle Good, right, speaks with Nova Scotia farmers Wayne and Nicole Oulton in Edmonton about getting the most out of tax strategies and new approaches to farm business arrangements.

Defining roles can save the farm

Deciding and confirming “who’s in charge here” can take frustration out of the family farm

Improved communications and actually defining roles and responsibilities on a family farm can not only make the day go better, but can actually save a farm business, says a long-time Alberta consultant. Confusion over who is in charge can lead to some very stressful situations, says Merle Good, a well know consulting agricultural tax specialist […] Read more


Kim Keller first developed the Farm At Hand concept at her family’s farm near Gronlid in northeastern Saskatchewan. (Country Guide photo by Photos by Kathryn)

FarmLink picks up mobile management app

A Saskatchewan-developed, cloud-based mobile app for farm management is being uploaded into Prairie grain marketing consultancy FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Winnipeg-based FarmLink announced Tuesday it will merge Farm At Hand, the software platform developed by Kim Keller and Himanshu Singh, into its operations. Financial terms of the merger weren’t released. “It has long been our belief […] Read more

young farmer

Six tips for hiring and keeping your farm employees

Farm Management: Thinking of hiring more staff to make sure next season runs more smoothly? Try these hiring tips

One of the advantages of family farming (and family-owned businesses in general) is working with people who naturally love and trust each other. While there are common frictions and unique difficulties in working with family, it is usually more fulfilling than working with the relative strangers. Unfortunately, as farms get larger and tasks get more […] Read more


swathing barley in the field

Farm management: Getting from good to great

Farming is a numbers game. Make sure you 
make the most of the details on your farm


In March, I spent four days traveling from Grande Prairie to Lethbridge as part of the Leading Edge Farm Management series sponsored by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and I had the good fortune to be in the company of some very accomplished individuals. Dr. Danny Klinefelter from Texas A+M University who, I would say, […] Read more

farm sustainability diagram

New tool measures farm operation sustainability

Demand for “field print” calculations is on the rise

Energy consumption, land use, erosion and climate impact are key to environmental management. Consumers and food retailers are now demanding this type of information. But how do you measure your efficiency? A new calculator can help. Denis Tremorin, director of sustainability at Pulse Canada, is the driving force behind the Canadian Field Print Calculator project and […] Read more


Men watching a sunset

A look back and a step up

When the next generation moves home to the farm, it’s a time for change and role re-evaluation

I am somewhat late for the season of “year in reviews,” so I thought I’d do one better and review, briefly, my last three years on the farm. In May 2015 it will be four years since I moved back to the farm, so I’ve been through four crop seasons. When I moved back to […] Read more

Who gets to make the ultimate decision on this farm?

Here’s some helpful overview questions to aid the decision-making process

One of speaker Norm Rubin’s universal laws of life goes like this: “Make everyone a stakeholder. Involve everyone on your team in your farm; ask for their input and opinions. Recognize that all those involved in your business will build your business. When you make everyone in your network a stakeholder, whether they have a financial […] Read more


Photo of a 2011 hog barn fire in Taber, Alta.

Be prepared for fire so your assets don’t go up in smoke

“That will never happen to us,” we all think. Until it does

At 4:30 am on June 6, 2012, dairy farmer Harry Byce woke up very suddenly to what he thought was the sound of rain on his hay. It was odd that he heard it before he smelled it, but that’s the way the mind works when deep asleep. Concerned about his hay, he jumped out […] Read more

Good communication is key to a successful farm transition

Good communication is key to a successful farm transition

Finding common ground is a good way to move things along as long as both parties buy in

This is the final part of our series on succession. We’ve looked back over the last 10 years identifying successes and messes that we’ve witnessed in business transitions. From here we developed an extensive list of reasons why those transitions were successful or what caused them to go off the rails. We grouped this list […] Read more