Farming, Family, and Fitness – The Three F’s I Live by and How They Keep Me Motivated both Personally and Professionally

I have always believed in my three “F’s”, but to be upfront and honest they were a distant thought. Growing up, I knew that we were not the wealthiest of families. My parents provided everything I needed for a great childhood, but we did…

She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy – When buying equipment, who sets the price?

‘Tis the season; just as Christmas comes around every December, equipment quote season comes around every October. One would think that consulting would be more crops driven, but in today’s landscape, the number of decisions regarding labour…

What’s in a Value – How creating internal values can have everybody row the boat in the same direction.

I have been asked numerous times who I look up to. Who I emulate, respect, and try to be in both my personal and professional life. The easy answer would be to spout off all my mentors, role models, business partners, or even my spouse. But…

Bigger is Better – In agriculture why is growth seen as a detriment to the industry? Why do we want to see others fail?

To be clear off the start, bigger is not better; better is better.   Lately, I have seen articles and blogs about farm consolidation and its effect on agriculture. Growing up on a 4,000-acre grain farm that did not run the latest and…

Farming and Tim Hortons – Is primary producer agriculture one big franchise? Should it be?

At our last leadership meeting at Hebert Grain Ventures, the question was posed - “Is every year the same in farming, and if so, can we create a 52-week calendar of operations?”    Okay, don’t stop reading yet. Hear me out.…

“Bring a Shovel” – How a simple quote changed my mindset in business and in life.

“If you are going to bring us dead cats, bring a shovel”.   I laughed the first time I heard this. The second time, not so much, as it was directed at me. When getting into business with a close friend, my biggest worry was that…

If Cash is King, is Working Capital the Queen? – How working capital is the difference between success and failure when it comes to primary producer operations – PART 2

In Part 1 of this blog, we covered how working capital strength can benefit primary producer operations.   As an entrepreneur, I have always been drawn to the fact that I am in charge. Now, I don’t mean this in the sense of having…

If Cash is King, is Working Capital the Queen? – How working capital is the difference between success and failure when it comes to primary producer operations – PART 1

  Growing up, I can always remember the early days of working paycheque to paycheque. Always thinking that next month I would be able to put some money aside (or more likely what night at the bar I could spend it at). It’s almost ironic…

Buying Time – How a growth mentality can reduce work and create more time to spend on the things that matter most

  A partner of mine once explained to me – “As farmers, we are really good at finding more work, but we are really poor at finding people.”   The context of our discussion was around maintaining a growth mentality and…

Different, Not Less

Different, Not Less – How having two children with autism changed my journey in primary producer agriculture.   “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert…

You Been Farming Long? – Succession and Transition is About Business, Not Family

You Been Farming Long? – Succession and Transition is About Business, Not Family   I remember growing up, every farmhouse in Saskatchewan had the picture on the wall of the two young boys in overalls that exclaimed, “you been…

Relevance and Reliability – Why the qualitative aspects of benchmarking are just as important as the quantitative.

During my time as a public accountant, I believed that benchmarking was going to be the driving force in consulting moving forward.    How could it not be?    The ability to compare hundreds of thousands of producers…