Once, at a farm family meeting of siblings, we were trying to analyze why the parents were so reluctant to let go of farm asset ownership. I suspect one of the key factors keeping transition planning stuck is that many farm men do not have an identity, role, or purpose beyond their decades old role […]
The Gift of Healing Stories in Agriculture
“It is well-known in management that the creation and maintenance of a positive emotional state is key to performance, and positive feedback is a powerful tool. When done appropriately, it may not only add to motivation, satisfaction, and performance at work but also to the quality of working relationships.” -Pierrette Desrosiers Psycoaching. Pierrette believes, as […]
Young Farmers: What Do They Really Want?
I was recently flipping through “Fast Company,” one of my favourite business magazines. An article caught my eye describing “Millennials.” You know, those people in the workforce who were born after 1978. There were several insights about what made millennials tick. Naturally, I extrapolated what these young farmers might want to see happen on the […]
Let Go of the Proverbial Carrot: 8 Ways to Move Towards Your Succession Plan
Many next-generation farmers that I coach are sick of complaining. They want this year to be the year they FINALLY gain some equity. Farmers love carrots, don’t you know? They dangle the proverbial carrot for years in front of the next generation, to keep the young folks guessing about when they’ll become part-owners and […]
The Farm Workaholic: 7 Reality Checks and A Subscription to Making Change
Farming is one of those businesses where you live at your workplace. There’s no line between work and home. It seems work is always just out the back door (because it is!) This can cause a farmer to become a workaholic. The reality is, working too much is killing farmers and their families. Imagine your […]
Rejuvenating Roles of Women in Agriculture
I wish you could have been there to see it. I was speaking to a farm couple and when I asked, “when is it your wife’s turn to get what she wants?”, I saw the farmer’s wife poke him in the arm. Older farm men usually hate it when I ask that question—they’re very content […]
The Farmland Dilemma: Help! The Siblings Who Don’t Farm are Getting Farmland!
I could feel the frustration and pain as I read her lengthy email describing an all too common scenario for farm families on the topic of inheriting farmland. It looks like this: Aging parents have been pressured to be “fair” to the siblings who don’t farm. And the non-farming siblings also seem to have noticed […]
Keeping Farm Transitions Fair
Farm transitions can be tough. And they’re only tougher when there’s a lack of fairness during the process. The daughter of BDO’s Jim Snyder (now retired) thinks farm families will be more successful if they view fairness as “helping everyone be successful” rather than merely “being equal”. I’ve been challenged to create a session on […]
10 Things Millennial Farmers Want
Do you know what millennial farmers really want? I recently had the privilege of meeting a group of the Alberta Young Farmers.They were young, energetic and positive about their future in agriculture. Here are ten things I learned from them about what millennial farmers want in life. To be heard. Millennials have ideas and opinions. […]
How to Build a Strong Relationship: Marriage Fitness for Farm Couples
This article was originally posted on October 17, 2017, and has been updated. Does it ever feel like your spouse pays more attention to crop production than they do to you? These cracks really start to show when farm couples don’t build strong partnerships. I’d like to challenge you to get your marriage/partnership into better […]
