Farm transition and business management specialist Ray Riel says the traditional view of business legacy involves property but it’s more than that for farm families. Farming has a “legacy made of values, attitudes, property, heirlooms, stories and traditions that form part of family culture.”

Managing a family legacy

Property can be protected through improved legal agreements, while accounting for emotional connections

Explaining estate decisions might be the key difference between maintaining a viable farm business and disintegration of a family legacy.  In part three of this farm business planning series, Ray […] Read more

farm family beside a red barn

Why life insurance matters in succession

Farm transition specialist Ray Riel discusses what different types of insurance can and can’t do for a family and business

In a previous edition of Farmtario, we spoke with farm transition professional Ray Riel about why young farmers should have a last Will and Testament. In this instalment, Riel expands […] Read more


A professor emeritus says an effective management strategy is to put yourself in the situation of ‘what if’ and begin addressing difficult questions and situations that might arise from the uncertainties of farming.

Planning for “What if”

Succession planning questions to ask and steps to take to start the conversation

Many farms think an unexpected change will never happen in their family. The premise is: “our family operation has nothing to worry about.” Few family operations survive unexpected changes to […] Read more



Filmmaker Brina Romanek talks with Jim Giffen, the subject of her documentary.

Documentary explores subject of farm succession

Filmmaker focuses on the story of a retiring Ontario farmer who is passing on his operation to a non-family member

Filmmaker Brina Romanek was working on a project about food waste in Canada when one of her subjects showed her how many farms in the area were not being passed […] Read more