Good business practises lead to increased growth

By Gary Sliworsky
OMAFRA Rep.

Farmers actively engaged in business management planning practices are seeing increased growth while their counterparts who generally do not undertake farm business management planning activities are faced with less or declining incomes. This is according to a new study by Ipsos Reid, recently previewed at a meeting of the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI), which surveyed Ontario farmers on their farm business management practices and attitudes. The study included six focus groups and 20 in-depth interviews with farmers as well as telephone interviews with 500 farmers of various farm types across the province.
“This survey shows that there is a connection between farm business management planning and farm business growth,” says Gerald Renkema, the newly elected Chair of the AMI, the organization that commissioned the study. According to the survey, 22 percent of respondents are categorized as “planners”, farmers who are most likely to have a formal business plan for their operations, have average total farm sales and are actively setting farm profit targets each year. The full study report and findings will be made available to the general public in the early summer on the AMI website at www.takeanewapproach.ca.
The meeting held in Guelph in April was a showcase of the AMI’s achievements over the past 2010-2011 working year. The meeting saw presentations from Ipsos-Reid as well as industry organizations which received funding from the AMI, in order to carryout projects that promote, develop or teach farm business management skills to Ontario farmers.
Three successful projects undertaken by industry organizations were presented at the meeting including an education day and benchmarking work by the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency, a two-day farm business management seminar by the Ontario Apple Growers for its members, and the development of farm business management clubs by the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association. Club participants are currently active in two peer networking groups, one dealing with on-farm bakeries and the other with farm tours for schools.
AMI currently has 26 farm business management projects underway within the province. The organization promotes new ways of thinking about farm business management and aims to increase awareness, understanding and adoption of beneficial business management practices by Ontario farmers. The Agricultural Management Institute is part of the Best Practices Suite of programs for Growing Forward. For more information, please visit www.takeanewapproach.ca.
For more information:
Ryan Koeslag, 519-822-6618,
ami@takeanewapproach.ca