On family farms, especially multi-generational operations, being open about finances isn’t just good practice — it’s essential for business survival and harmonious relationships, Alyssa Brown writes.
Tag Archives farm succession
Farm families gain clarity from financial transparency
Farm Family Coach: It doesn’t mean having to share every personal expense or do away with clear boundaries in leadership
Run the farm with its people in mind
Farm Family Coach: Developing skills in HR management is especially valuable on farms with employees or a multi-generational workforce
Learning the human resources side of management and leadership is particularly helpful if your farm business has employees or a multi-generational workforce, farm family coach Lydia Carpenter writes.
Seven ways to streamline your farm transition
Farm Family Coach: It’s not hard to find parallels between this process and your day-to-day business
Lyle Wiens, who coaches farm families and advises on grain marketing, sees parallels between marketing and farm transition planning — two decision-making areas in which farmers can feel overwhelmed.
A vendor take-back mortgage will help keep a farm intact
Farm Financial Planner: The retiring sellers don’t want or need top dollar for the land, but need to limit the resulting tax liability
A retiring Manitoba couple with no farming heirs would like to see their land safely transferred to their farming neighbours. Just gifting the land, though, or selling it below market value would complicate their retirement plans.
Prepare your farm family for the storm before it happens
Farm Family Coach: Look for ways to strengthen resilience in peaceful times
The trust-building work done during calm days can help a farm team create a strong and united front, ensuring that when the inevitable challenges arise, we are ready to face them together.
Mastering communication is a work in perpetual progress
Farm Family Coach: The farming environment can be rich with opportunity for skill development
While it can get lost in the day-to-day, communication between farm family members can come with high stakes. Errors in family relations could be just as costly as running a sprayer boom into a power pole.
Consider new ideas on the farm with a learner mindset
Farm Family Coach: It’s still wise, though, to seek mentors’ wisdom rather than have to relive past mistakes
When people want some influence and agency to try something new, and are faced with “This is the way the grandparents always did it,” enthusiasm and creativity can be dampened.
Helping hands on the ranch
A Little Bit Western: Many examples around the ranch and community show the kids are all right
At Lonesome Dove Ranch in Saskatchewan, there are many examples around the ranch and community which show the kids are all right.
Mother in the middle
Farm Family Coach: This Mother’s Day, work to communicate with each other, not through Mom as an intermediary
When two family members are unable to have effective communication, they often turn to someone else to hear them out. Many times, alas, this is Mom.
Common pitfalls in farm finances
Farm Family Coach: Active management in some key areas can reduce unnecessary struggles for your farm
Consider how cash management, diversification, risk management and investments could reduce unnecessary struggles faced by your farm.
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
