Milk Producer Magazine - The Voice of Ontario Dairy Producers

Early Spring

A Roadmap for the Future

On The Cover:
A Roadmap for the Future

For many producers, the family dairy farm is a multi-generational operation requiring the same types of decisions as a publicly traded company and where planning for the future requires diligence.

More from this issue

Organizational Planning

Organizational Planning

All businesses, whether dairy farms or organizations like DFO, need a focused plan in order to succeed.

Where Do I Start?

Where Do I Start?

IT’S ESTIMATED THAT 75 PER CENT OF FARMS ACROSS CANADA will change hands in the next 10 years. That prediction by Farm Management Canada means farm businesses should be making plans for succession and transition, or an exit. But are they prepared?

The Transition Journey

The Transition Journey

Farm succession planning requires effective conversations about the future, even if it’s hard.

It’s Time to Have a Talk

It’s Time to Have a Talk

It’s baby steps to start. His father, Josef, a native of Switzerland who came to Canada to farm in 1993, bought a camper to see what life is like off the farm and recently took a trip to Switzerland.

Demographics of Succession Planning

Demographics of Succession Planning

FARMERS IN ONTARIO and across the nation are facing a demographic challenge. Like business owners in other sectors, they’re approaching the stage of life where they will exit the business and pass the reins on to their successors. Many aren’t as ready as they need to be.

Wills

Wills

THERE ARE MANY STEPS AND TASKS on the pathway to transition, but writing and updating a will is the most important. It’s impossible to overstate how important this step is and shocking how many farmers either don’t have one, or it’s woefully outdated.

Building a Barn for the Future

Building a Barn for the Future

New code requirements will reshape Canada’s dairy barns

Dairy Code of Practice

Dairy Code of Practice

ON MARCH 30, 2023, the National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) released the updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle.