Resources

COVID-19 Farm Programs and Concerns

BDO put together a task force of agricultural advisors from across Canada to identify the highest priority concerns from our clients. We want to help you through these changing times, so you can focus on ensuring quality Canadian food continues to be produced.

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Connecting Manitoba Business with programs and resources during COVID-19

Many businesses and not-for-profits in Manitoba are facing significant challenges due to COVID-19. If you're one of them, the Manitoba Economic Support Centre is here for you.

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Understanding Farm Financial Statements

BDO’s team of agriculture accountants have standardized the farm financial statement to serve farmers’ best interests. Efforts to streamline this process allowed us to develop a set of financial benchmarks as a way for clients to compare their results year over year to plan better for the future based on specific areas of focus.

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Budgeting Farm Machinery Costs

This factsheet provides a framework for calculating the total annual cost of farm machinery so that you can determine whether it makes economic sense for you to own a machine. The best source of information to budget farm machinery costs is your records.

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Machinery Cost Calculator

The Machinery Cost Calculator is an excel worksheet that contains a machinery cost calculator, cost charts, a factsheet on machinery budgeting, and a comparison worksheet that looks at machinery replacement options including purchase, repair, lease and custom hire. It also has a simple cash basis lease worksheet.

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COVID-19 Challenges Push Forward Innovation and Strategy

The agriculture and food production industries continue to face their fair share of challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes changes in everyday tasks to produce food. However, many are also proving that necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

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How to effectively manage your covid-19 risks

This is a time of rapid change. Drastic ad hoc actions are being made to address challenges to operations, safety, supply chains, technology, data security, communications, and cash flow management. Ad hoc strategic actions pose major risks and the evaluation of risk with each action is critical

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Pivoting your Farm Production and Marketing Plan During COVID-19

The Pivoting your Farm Production and Marketing Plan During COVID-19 webinar will provide growers with a framework for identifying their risks and making plans for their production and marketing. We will discuss how these changes can be used to help mitigate risk. Content will include using cost of production analysis to understand impacts of crop choices and opportunities for accessing alternate marketing outlets. This webinar is most applicable to small- and medium-sized farm operators.

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AgriShield

AgriShield® is the first Canadian platform to offer a 360° vision to assess and manage risks on the farm. This platform guides farmers through 6 families of risks that they may encounter. It also helps to leverage existing risk management tools and professional services offered to farmers. With AgriShield®, producers are be able to put an action plan in place to minimize threats and maximize opportunities for their business.

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Decision Making Process

Management is decision making, or more precisely, it is determining which alternative will most likely allow the decision makers to achieve their goals. But as this page describes, decision making is more complex than that simple description. The purpose of this page is to consider whether a person can enhance their decision making or managerial skills by thoroughly exploring how decisions are made and implemented.

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10 Steps to a solid business plan

A business plan is a key tool that can set you up for business success. It helps you focus on your goals and provides the answers you need to make your financing and loan process easier. Here are 10 things you should include as well as some resources to get started.

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Risk management basics: What every farmer needs to know

Agricultural producers make decisions in a risky environment every day. With the coronavirus pandemic currently sweeping the globe, producers are faced with decisions that could have major impacts on their farm operations. There are three primary risks associated with COVID-19 that all farmers should consider at this time. They are: Disruption of income, Impact on food and farm safety, Impact on human health.

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Managing the Agricultural Challenges Brought on by COVID-19

Hear from agriculture experts leading the charge to integrate drone technology into their fields. Expect to learn how DroneDeploy can be used to: enable eyes on the field with automated stand counts, evaluate early-season crop emergence, spot areas that need to be replanted and assess potential machinery issues.

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Canada FarmSafe Plan

Good planning can help a farm become and stay successful. Farmers develop business, marketing and environmental plans to ensure the success of their farm; so why not plan for safety?

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Smooth out decision-making with process and a plan

A fictional case study by MNP

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How advisors add value to your farm management plan

Experts in various fields can help farmers better understand the nuances of farm management. Consulting with one or more farm advisors in aspects ranging from farm transition to animal care gives farmers focused advice from specialists.

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Understanding and managing cash flow

A cash flow budget is an estimate of all cash receipts and expenses expected to occur during a specific period. Cash flow examines money movement, not net income or profitability, but it’s an essential part of financial management.

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Financial Ratios

Forming a clear financial picture of your operation is important. One way to get the information you need is to calculate your operation's liquidity, solvency and profitability – three measurements that will help you evaluate your financial situation.

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Preparing your farm for agriculture technology

There are considerable benefits to using ag tech, but advantages come from asking questions, coming up with a plan for the farm and understanding how agricultural technology can empower a farm’s unique needs.

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Managing your business during COVID-19

A list of resources for managing your farm business from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Resources on COVID-19

CFA has been monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it relates to Canadian Agriculture. We will be providing our members with weekly updates on the virus as information emerges. Please check this page regularly for resources on the virus.

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BDC - 8 steps for planning your emergency and disaster plan

Whether it's a natural disaster such as an ice storm, or a serious accident in an industrial plant, an unforeseen event can disrupt business operations at any company. After all, in an emergency situation, your employees may not be able to come to work. Your suppliers may face a shortage of the materials you need to continue your business activities, or demand for your services may simply decline

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BDC Business continuity plan and templates for entrepreneurs

While some companies have developed contingency plans, most have not. This lack of preparedness not only threatens the viability of sectors in Canada but, as in the case of manufacturing, it also jeopardizes the delivery of critical goods that depend on complex supply chain systems. Creating and maintaining a business continuity plan helps ensure that your business has the resources and information needed to deal with an emergency. A well designed plan will help you minimize the risk that an emergency poses to your employees, clients and suppliers, the continuity of your business operations and your bottom line.

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Crisis Management Tools

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and farm businesses work to navigate these unprecedented times, the topic of farm business and contingency planning is increasingly on the minds of farmers. Through OFA’s partnership with Farm Life, we are providing resources for farm businesses offering tips, checklists and tools to help navigate this process.

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Province of Alberta Emergency Preparedness Resources

Learn how you and your family can prepare yourselves for an emergency or disaster.

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Ontario Pork On-Farm Emergency Response Planning Guide

This manual encourages farmers to take a critical look at their agricultural operation and assess potential risks. It will guide you through creating an individualized emergency response plan for your farm

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FEX Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) Directory

Looking for a professional advisor who understands your world? Select from our database of certified Family Enterprise Advisors (FEAs) who are trained and designated to understand the unique challenges of a family business.

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Building Effective Farm Management Systems

This guidebook, developed in workbook format, leads you systematically through implementation of key management applications. The guidebook mirrors the process I’ve discussed over the last 30 years in seminars on “Managing Business Relationships and Transitions on Family Farms.” Each chapter contains: - A conceptual discussion of key management concepts and how they apply to family farm management, - Sample documents and case scenarios illustrating how these concepts have been implemented in a variety of farm environments, and - Worksheets or templates designed to lead the user through an orderly process for implementing the concepts in day-to-day family farm management (including 23 template files and programs). The application template files will help you jump start implementation by providing foundation material that can be molded, edited, and supplanted to create your own management system documents. Template files include Mission, Vision and Core Value Statements; Job Descriptions; Company Policies; Standard Operating Procedures; Planning Systems; Compensation Summaries; Control and Performance Evaluation Systems, and many more.

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