Sage advice for young and old

A lifetime in farming brings perspective. Two veteran farmers, Jean-Guy Vincent and Garry Meier, share theirs – one has some advice for young people entering farming while the other offers some thoughts for those passing on their operations. After 41 years in the hog...

Opening doors for young farmers

The statistics suggest one story. Young farmers tell another. The latest Census of Agriculture found the number of young farmers continues to plunge – with the percentage of farm operators under age 35 down nearly 60 per cent in the last two decades  (8.2% in 2011...

A different route to farming

Pat Dunphy didn’t take a ‘kid takes over from dad’ route into agriculture. But the PEI farmer’s unconventional career path may soon be more common. Dunphy earns a salary running a farm owned by outside investors while slowly building up his own operation on the side....

The Top 10 Stupid Things Families do to break up their Business

1. Assuming all genetic relationships equal good working relationships. We assume that all genetic relationships equal a good working relationship. This is not true. Just because you are related to someone, doesn’t mean you should be working together. Acceptance in a...

Succession Planning

Succession planning is a thorny issue – not because the plans can be complex, but because it raises so many questions that need to have answers. And these answers come from people whose feelings might easily be hurt. In our work here at the University of Wyoming,...