Mobile phones have become an essential piece of equipment on most North American farms. A study just completed by Ipsos underlines what we've seen here at Real Agriculture — how farmers have fallen in love with and come to rely on their smartphones, even more than the general public. The research firm found over 80... Read More
Category: Farm Management
As Canadian farms continue to grow, so does the need for talented employees who can help farmers reach their business goals. But how do you find and attract these individuals? And once you have them in your employ, how do you keep them? Human resource consultant Lynn Perry joins us for episode 20 of the... Read More
Dairy farm expansion typically focuses on adding more cows to increase production. That’s certainly the case for Monkton, Ontario-based producers Rick and Theresa Portena, but the Portenas also want a better opportunity to milk cows themselves. In this inaugural episode of Real Agriculture’s Dairy School, the Portenas’ share the strategy on why they invested in... Read More
Fuel theft is unfortunately an all-too-common problem on farms. As operations grow larger, and with more uninhabited farm yards, thieves may find fuel tanks unsupervised and unprotected. To keep fuel where it's supposed to be, Kenneth Johnson and Jace Ericson of Estevan, Saskatchewan came up with their own solution: a steel cabinet for fuel transfer... Read More
Ontario farms tend to be dominated by field crops and managed pasture, but there are many opportunities for farmers to create habitat for endangered species. The Species at Risk Farm Incentive Program (SARFIP) is designed to help farmers make those opportunities become reality, explains Margaret May, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) Regional Program... Read More
Yield history, soil type, fertility, drainage, irrigation potential, and cropping options — those have traditionally been some of the main factors considered when assessing the value or rental rate for a parcel of farmland. But with telematics and data collection capabilities of farm equipment expanding rapidly, there's another field characteristic that should probably be considered:... Read More
A private member's bill tabled in the House of Commons last week aims to reduce the tax burden of intergenerational transfers of farms that are incorporated. "My bill would end a blatantly unfair situation that puts business people, farmers, and fishing vessel operators at a disadvantage when they want to pass their business on to... Read More
The online sharing concept that has produced Uber, Airbnb and other examples of peer-to-peer services aimed at better utilizing existing capital is developing in the U.S. farm machinery market. MachineryLink Sharing, which launched in the fourth quarter of 2015, bills itself as the industry's first internet-based equipment sharing program. Farmers, and even some equipment dealers,... Read More
"Innovation" is a buzzword in today's world, often associated with technology, but it's not necessarily about gadgets, as our guest for this episode in the Mind Your Farm Business series points out. "Innovation really is about grabbing ideas from other parts of the planet or other ideas you see people doing and bringing that back... Read More
The federal agriculture minister has launched online consultations on what Growing Forward 3 — or whatever name the Liberals give the next agricultural policy framework — should look like. Growing Forward 2, which encompasses most federal and provincial programs for agricultural research, market development and business risk management, expires on April 1st, 2018. Lawrence MacAulay,... Read More