Cultivating Business The official publication of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors 2018-2019 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 With Compliments Of: Improving the Quality of Farm Advice2018-2019 / www.cafanet.ca 5 CAFA INSIDERS 07 A Message from CAFA ’ s National Chair 09 A Message from CAFA ’ s Executive Director CURRENT, CONNECTED AND CERTIFIED 10 Advice from CAFA ’ s Board of Directors 13 The Real Benefits of CAFAⓇ Membership 15 Mark Your Calendar NOW So You Don’t Miss These Upcoming Events! FEATURED CONTENT 16 Take Your Family Business to The Next Level 18 Five Keys to a Successful Succession (Exit) Plan 20 Cannabis Farming in Canada: A Budding Opportunity? THE 2018-2019 CANADIAN FARM ADVISORS RESOURCE GUIDE 23 The CAFAⓇ Designation is a Mark of Excellence: Join CAFA Today! 24 Alberta 28 British Columbia 29 Manitoba 31 Ontario 43 Prince Edward Island 43 Saskatchewan 50 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Cultivating Business contents Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Return all undeliverable addresses to: 309 Youville Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R2H 2S9 Toll-Free: (866) 999-1299 Toll-Free Fax: (866) 244-2544 www.matrixgroupinc.net Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 President & CEO Jack Andress Operations Manager Shoshana Weinberg sweinberg@matrixgroupinc.net Publisher Jessica Potter Editor-in-Chief Shannon Savory ssavory@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Editor Alexandra Kozub akozub@matrixgroupinc.net Finance/Administration Pat Andress, Nathan Redekop, Lloyd Weinberg accounting@matrixgroupinc.net Director of Circulation & Distribution Lloyd Weinberg distribution@matrixgroupinc.net Sales Manager – Winnipeg Neil Gottfred Sales Manager – Hamilton Jeff Cash Sales Team Leader Tanina Di Piazza Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Account Executives Andrew Lee, Bonnie Petrovsky, Brenda McPhee, Brian MacIntyre, Cheryl Klassen, Colleen Bell, Denzel Gordon, Frank Kenyeres, Jim Hamilton, Julie Welsh, Renée Kent, Rob Gibson, Sandra Kirby, Selina Mills, Stephanie Caldas, Terri Erkelens Advertising Design James Robinson Layout & Design Travis Bevan ©2018-2019 Matrix Group Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Printed in Canada. Cultivating Business Published For: Canadian Association of Farm Advisors Box 270 Seven Sisters Falls, Manitoba R0E 1Y0 Toll free: (877) 474-2871 Direct: (204) 348-3578 Cell: (204) 340-2500 Email: info@cafanet.ca CAFA’S NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chris Corbett BSA, CAFA ® , National Chair Farm at Hand Melfort, Saskatchewan Kim Gerencser BAFS, CFPⓇ, CAFA ® , Vice Chair RBC Royal Bank Regina, Saskatchewan Michael Bossy HBA, CPA, CA, CFPⓇ, TEP, KCC, CAFA ® , Treasurer Bossy Nagy Group, Chartered Professional Accountants Tillsonburg, Ontario Stan MacEwen CAFA ® , Secretary Laskowsky & Wright LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Tom Blonde B.Sc., CPA, CA, CAFA ® Collins Barrow, Chartered Professional Accountants Elora, Ontario James Fehr B.Sc., P.Ag., CAFA ® RBC Royal Bank Steinbach, Manitoba Rick Gendemann CPA, CA, CAFA ® Manning Elliott, Accountants & Business Advisors Abbotsford, British Columbia Shannon Lueke B.Mgt., PAg., CAFA ® MNP LLP Humboldt, Saskatchewan Catherine McCorquodale M.Sc., LL.B. Monteith Ritsma Phillips LLP Stratford, Ontario Ryan Parker B.Comm., AACI, P.App., P.Ag., CAFA ® Valco Consultants London, Ontario CAFA FOUNDERS Donna Hastings M.Sc., PHEc. Howard Morry B.Comm (Hons), LL.B.2018-2019 / www.cafanet.ca 7 A s I sit here in my office on Nov- ember 6th, having just spent an hour shoveling our first signifi- cant snowfall off the driveway, I found myself humming let it snow, let it snow, let it snow… I shook my head. Too early for Christ- mas carols. December 1st at the earliest in my humble opinion! But, I digress. I got thinking about growth. Growth is a big thing in our business. If the crops don’t grow, we all feel it. This harvest has been an immensely challen- ging one in many regions of our country, and our farm families have had a tough time. The mental and physical strain was a lot to handle, and for some, it’s ongoing. From canola north of Edmonton, to pota- toes in PEI, there is some crop that won’t be harvested, and will indeed be written off this year. And yet, these farm families will bounce back, and persevere, look- ing to next year for a better opportunity to grow their crops and their business. Kudos to all of you who have been, and still are, helping these families with their stress and challenges. CAFA has experienced some growth as well. And we continue to add new members to the fold. It’s been a great year of growth, one I hope to see con- tinue. Why are we experiencing such an influx of new members? Savvy marketing? Nope, no budget. Board initiatives? Partially. Hottest new trend in ag? Hardly. My scintillating and in- sightful comments and articles? (insert guffaw) So, what is it? While a tweaking of the fees may have helped, I honestly be- lieve it’s the fact people in the ag advisor community are feeling a need to network with professionals in and around their area. In the last edition, I wrote about the increasing need for professionals in the farm succession space, and this, I believe, is starting to hit home – as is the realization it can’t be managed alone. Growth is an amazing thing. But as we all know, it doesn’t happen in a vac- uum. Growth needs attention. It needs to be nurtured, managed, paid careful attention to. Think of the newest em- ployees in your respective organizations. How do you manage their growth? Are they left to their own devices? Here are the keys and a computer – good luck? Of course not. Someone is responsible for their growth, their ongoing develop- ment. Think about our farm clients, al- ways on top of growth management – in all manner of production systems. Growth needs to be sustained. Sus- tainability is another buzzword of our times in agriculture. Our farm clients are inherently sustainable, as their livelihoods depend on continual reuse of their land resource. We too need to sustain our growth, and it is not as inherent as it is in primary production. Our sustained growth has to become the very real responsibility of each and every one of us, particularly our more veteran members. CAFA has no training programs, nor training manager to assist our newest members in understanding the inner workings of our association. We have nobody designated to take them under their wing and mentor them in how to get the most out of our network, and our members involved in it. So, dear reader, it’s up to you. If you are the newest of us, welcome. Thank you for joining us! Now, go and find the person who invited you to join, and ask them how they got involved. Be curi- ous! Ask them why they are a member of CAFA and how you can meet more people. Ask them to introduce you – and if they already have, ask them to do it again. If you are a veteran of our group, be a growth leader, a sustainer of our new people. Challenge your CAFA col- leagues to make the chapter meetings resonate, relevant, remarkable. Grab the new members and share your stories. Involve them in the plan for the chapter meetings, ask for their input, encourage them to present to the group. Thanks to our outgoing board mem- bers, and welcome to our newest. There’s a lot of exciting things in store for all of us. Let it Grow, Let it Grow, Let it Grow. Chris Corbett National Chair Let it Grow, Let it Grow, Let it Grow. View from the Chair In the last edition, I wrote about the increasing need for professionals in the farm succession space, and this, I believe, is starting to hit home – as is the realization it can’t be managed alone.2018-2019 / www.cafanet.ca 9 I f you provide advisory or consulting services to farm fam- ilies and businesses, the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) is the association for you! CAFA is Canada’s only national association for Certified Agricultural Farm Advisors (CAFA ® ) – we are made up of like- minded individuals who share best-practices, challenges, in- sights and experiences. Regular local chapter meetings and our outstanding provincial Farm Updates encourage broader and deeper knowledge, empowering farm advisors to better engage their clients to be successful. In 2017-2018 we started our popular Local and Provincial Firm pricing plans. The concept behind the new membership options is to make being a part of CAFA possible for more farm advisors. If identifying as a farm advisor, CAFA wants to encourage improving the quality of farm advice with as many advisors as we can reach. Because of the new pricing options, CAFA membership has in- creased dramatically, which adds even more value to membership. How? Metcalfe’s Law: The value of a network is proportional to the square number of users. So, with CAFA ’ s 550 members, your CAFA network alone could possibly be over 300,000! Networks are powerful resources and critical to professional success. You can’t put a price on the value of getting to know the movers and shakers who are advising farm clients, and it is a bonus to be able to build a level of trust and a position of leader- ship with your peers. It helps to put a face to a name! Never forget, there are benefits when intelligent people get together. It is where all the energy and magic happen: relation- ships are enhanced, learning is accelerated and members are engaged. No amount of social media can replace that. Chapter meetings and Farm Update events benefit mem- bers by making it possible to meet new and different people and hear perspectives from other disciplines. Networking is referred to as the #1 unwritten rule of success in business. Business is all about people but knowledge is the only lasting competitive advantage. Continuous learning upgrades skills and increases knowledge. It is required to adapt to agri- culture’s rapid changes, legal and policy updates and new planning tools and solutions. It is to your advantage to be current in your knowledge and connected to the resources of other advisors. High-level professional development, delivered at chapter meetings and Farm Updates, helps members gain an aware- ness and appreciation of what is important when advising farm families and businesses. What can be garnered in con- versation with peers, takes that learning above and beyond what is otherwise possible. It nurtures the “Ah ha!” moments! CAFA: Improving the quality of farm advice. Liz Robertson Executive Director Executive Director’s Message Robert Graham, B.A. (Hons.), J.D., CAFA ® Miller Thomson LLP Robert Graham practices in business law, agriculture law and private client services. His practice focuses on corporate and commercial transactions, business succession planning and personal estate planning. Robert also works with local charitable and not-for- profit organizations on a pro bono basis with the aim of giving back to the city of Guelph and the surrounding communities. CAFA insiders Abe Toews, CFP®, CLU, Ch.F.C., CHS, CAFA ® Beyond Wealth Management Abe is a Chartered Financial Consultant with Beyond Wealth Management in Regina. He is a Past President of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, the Wascana Country Club and the Life Insurance Managers Association of Canada. Abe is also a member of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprises and the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors. Abe currently sits on the Advocis TTFAC board as Vice Chair and is a strong believer in the value the association brings to its members and the public. Rick Gendemann, CPA, CA, CAFA ® Manning Elliott Accountants & Business Advisors Rick Gendemann is the firm’s lead partner, overseeing and advising on family business succession services. Rick is committed to helping business families create a roadmap for successfully transferring their entrepreneurship and economic wealth across multiple family generations. Rick is a graduate of the Institute of Family Enterprise Advisors program, which provides a comprehensive education in knowledge and best practices in family enterprise advising. A Network Like CAFA's is a Powerful Tool!Next >