Outlook 2009: managing through volatile times

What’s on the horizon for 2009? The last two years have been a roller coaster, with sharply rising (and falling) commodity markets and unprecedented upheaval in world capital markets. Brian Hayward will look out to the horizon and share his thoughts about where the markets are heading—and more importantly, also talk about risk and business management strategies that farm business can apply to be effective through volatile times, and beyond.

Brian Hayward Bio

Brian is President of Aldare Resources, a business consultancy, which he formed in 2007, that provides strategic advisory and governance services. From 1991 until 2007, he was CEO of Agricore United - the largest agribusiness in Western Canada with over $4 billion in domestic and international sales. Mr. Hayward is actively involved on several public, private company and crown corporation boards and has provided leadership to many not-for-profit organizations such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Conference Board of Canada, and The Arthritis Society. Mr. Hayward holds a Master of Science degree in Agriculture Economics from McGill University, and is a graduate of The Director's College of McMaster University's Degroote School of Business.

Future of farming and the future of rural Canada

The Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry recently released a report called Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty with some recommendations that relate to agriculture and rural communities

Senator Terry M. Mercer, CFRE
Liberal Party of Canada  

Phone:  (613) 996-2657  
Fax:     (613) 947-2345
Email:   mercet@sen.parl.gc.ca

Date of Birth:  May 6, 1947

Appointed to the Senate by the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien in November 2003, Senator Terry M. Mercer represents the province of Nova Scotia and the Senatorial Division of Northend Halifax.
 
Senator Mercer served as the National Director of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1995-2003.  Prior to working with the Liberal Party, he held a wide variety of positions with various charitable institutions.  From 1993-1995, he was the Executive Director of the Metro Toronto Branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association, while from 1987-1993, he was Vice President and Director, Financial Development of the YMCA of Greater Toronto.  Senator Mercer has also held positions with the Nova Scotia Lung Association, St. John Ambulance Nova Scotia Council, and the Kidney Foundation of Canada (Nova Scotia Branch).

Senator Mercer is also very active in the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and currently is Past Chair of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy in Canada.  He is a member of the Nova Scotia and Ottawa Chapters of AFP.

Senator Mercer is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and has lectured extensively on modern ethical fundraising techniques.  He has been a founding member and Director of two chapters of AFP and a member of the Executive Committee of the North American YMCA Development Offices, 1990-1997.

Before working for these charitable institutions, Senator Mercer worked as Executive Assistant to the Nova Scotia Minister of Labour and Housing from 1974 to 1978.  A recipient of both the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation and the Queen's Jubilee Medal, Senator Mercer is an active volunteer and has served in the following capacities:

• Board of Directors, Halifax Police Boys & Girls Club, 1976-1981
• Board of Directors, CFB Halifax Curling Club, 1979-1981 & 1984-1985
• Board of Directors, Kidney Foundation of Canada, 1981-1987
• Vice-President, Adoptive Parents Association of Nova Scotia, 1986-1987
• Coach/Manager, Little League Baseball, 1988-1994
• Coach/Director, Junior Curling Program, 1988-1994
• Member Parish Council, St. Lawrence Church, Halifax, 1986-1987
• Board of Directors, Walter Callow Coach Association, 1985-1987

Senator Mercer has a Bachelor of Arts from St. Mary's University in Halifax.  He and his wife Ellen (nee Simmons) live in Halifax and have one son, Michael.

Current Member of the following Senate committee(s):

• Aging (Special)     
• Agriculture and Forestry     
• Transport and Communications     

David & Lisa Taylor
BC/Yukon

David Taylor’s love of animals and farm life started early and continued through his teens with 4-H involvement. However, in the mid-80’s, his family’s farm was downsized and David decided to obtain a university degree in Business Administration. David met his wife Lisa in university and for over three years after graduation, they both worked in the Vancouver area; David in banking and Lisa as a teacher. But the lure of the farm was never far away. In 1995, David, his father and brother purchased a Vancouver Island dairy farm in Courtney, B.C. and Viewfield Farms Limited was born.

Viewfield Farms consists of 330 acres and a herd of over 300 purebred Holsteins. The herd, originally unregistered, has been upgraded through David’s breeding program and use of embryo transfer, to 97% purebred. Today, the herd boasts a classification of 6 Excellent, 47 Very Good and 76 Good Plus cows. Production is equally important, as Viewfield Farm cows have achieved production awards both provincially and nationally. The Taylors achieved the highest award for milk quality on Vancouver Island in 2006. The farm is fully certified under the Canadian Quality Milk Program. New varieties of corn and grass are trialed in test plots on the farm each year. GSP is used in fertilizer and spray application. 20 unproductive acres along the Puntledge River has been transformed into a private campground where the Taylors play host to picnics, reunions and weddings.

David is active in many industry organizations including the Vancouver Island Holstein Club, the BC Dairy Foundation as well the Vancouver Island Milk Producers. Lisa teaches and organizes school tours of the farm. They are also the busy soccer and 4-H parents of 3 children aged 13, 10 and 7. The Taylors have never regretted their decision to return to farming and they look forward to being part of the future of the dairy industry in BC.

Bernard Vincent, B.Sc., M.Sc., MBA, CEC

Bernard Vincent is a private consultant with extensive experience in leadership development, business strategy, business expansion, marketing, and market research.  He is a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and a Master of Science degree.  He has a Master of Business Administration degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University in Victoria.

Mr. Vincent currently divides his time between consulting projects and coaching first-time and experienced managers.  Consulting projects typically include the development of business and marketing strategies for new products.  Mr. Vincent has worked in many of the meat and crop sectors of agriculture. He has been involved in research and development, production, processing, marketing and sales of agriculture products.

Coaching responsibilities are focused on helping managers develop and improve leadership skills. This is accomplished through one-to-one sessions as well as through peer network groups.  Mr. Vincent currently coaches people involved in all facets of agriculture ranging from management of companies to producers at the farm level. His clients come from across Canada, ranging from Vancouver Island to New Brunswick. He assists his clients through the transitional stages of businesses as well as in the development of the management skills needed to be successful.

As a Senior Consultant with a national consulting firm (KPMG), Mr. Vincent worked on projects involving strategy development, market research and new product assessment.   Previous to consulting, he was marketing manager for a Canadian animal health company. He was responsible for marketing, new product development and market research activities for the company’s animal health products in Canada.

Mr. Vincent began his career as a research technician at the Lacombe Research Station. He was involved in updating the carcass grading systems for pork, beef and lamb. He also worked extensively in assessing factors affecting meat quality. He was raised on a mixed beef and dairy farm in North Eastern Alberta. Mr. Vincent is bilingual (French) and currently resides in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

Lyne Groleau & Marco Couture - Quebec

Porcherie Marigro Inc., once the family farm of Lyne Groleau is now the 180 sow farrow to finish side of Lyne and her husband Marco Couture’s pork production and processing operation.  Lyne and Marco met while studying Farm Management and Technology at Victoriaville College.  After graduation, Lyne worked  in the family dairy farm and then in 1990 was hired as a consultant for Societe Cooperative du Prevert.  Marco worked as a dairy and crop production consultant until 1992 when Lyne was able to take over the pork side of her family’s farm in equal shares with Marco.

Early on, Lyne and Marco started selling some of their hogs directly to a small processor.  This led them to become involved in processing and selling directly to the consumer.  It was decided that Lyne would manage the hog barn and Marco would look after the processing side of the business, “La Jambonniere”, with all decisions made jointly between them.  No crops are grown as the farm is only 8 hectares which includes all the production and processing facilities.  Manure spreading agreements with neighbouring farms ensures proper disposal of their manure.  The number of weaned piglets per sow has increased from 17.9 in 1993 to 27.4 in 2008.  In 2001, the farm received Canadian Quality Assurance certification.  Sanitary protocols are strictly adhered to after a devastating disease outbreak in 2003.  The processing plant, built in 2004, has lowered the farm’s vulnerability to price fluctuations.

Since 2004, the farm has opened its doors to students, co-op studies and urban visitors to increase public awareness and promote their local product.   Lyne and Marco lead busy lives in their community with five daughters aged 9-15, who all help out on the farm.  The doors of the operation will be open to the girls should any of them decide to chose that path.

Raj Patel
Stuffed and Starved - the Structure of the International Food System

Raj Patel is a writer, activist and academic. He has degrees from the University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Cornell University, has worked for the World Bank and WTO and been tear-gassed on four continents protesting against them. He’s currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for African Studies, a researcher at the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a fellow at The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First. He was recently invited to share his views on the global food crisis in testimony to the US House Financial Services Committee and is an Advisor to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. In addition to numerous scholarly publications, he regularly writes for The Guardian, and has contributed to the LA Times, NYTimes.com, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Mail on Sunday, and The Observer. His first book is “Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System”.

Based on the bestselling book, the presentation asks tough questions about the way international agricultural trade is set up, the inequities that it fosters, and what organisations of farmers, farm-workers and consumers are doing to change the deal that they get from our current economic arrangements.

The Next Innovation in Farm Business Management - Brent VanKoughnet M.Sc. P.Ag.

As we consider many of the past Farm management innovations like strategic planning, financial risk management, market risk management, value chains and HR management, the ultimate contribution and benefit of each of these innovations is limited by the same issue, working our way through difficult conversations. We mostly all understand that building strong business relationships and communicating is important. Yet, there has been very little attention and very few tools shared with farm business managers on just how to do that in relation to realistic farm management challenges. This presentation will begin to provide a realistic expectation framework , some helpful tools and a challenge to farm CEO's to create a fertile culture and climate of productive disagreement. I am of the belief that skills in this area represent an extraordinary opportunity for the modern CEO (farm or otherwise) to differentiate themselves and their businesses from those they compete with. 

Brent VanKoughnet M.Sc. P.Ag.

Brent VanKoughnet M.Sc. P.Ag. is Owner / Manager of Agri Skills Inc. a company that specializes in agricultural innovation and human resource development services.  Agri Skills presently provides market development consulting, custom skills development and training programs, and conducts field scale precision trials for several major manufacturers and retailers in western Canada and the northern United States. He has recently completed training in the area of mediation and conflict resolution.  In addition, through his firm Agri Skills, Brent is an agent for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Brent’s career has included; Grain Merchant Louis Dreyfus, Agricultural Marketing Manager, Canada, Norwest Labs, Winnipeg Manitoba; Agri-Business Instructor and Marketing Coordinator, Assiniboine Community College, Brandon Manitoba; Agronomist, Special Projects and Marketing, Redfern Farm Services a multi outlet independent fertilizer dealership in Rivers Manitoba.  He completed a Masters degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Manitoba in 1992 and manages the family farm in Carman. 
Brent brings a unique combination of practical experience and insight from the perspectives of a producer, a marketer, a consultant, a mediator and a facilitator.  He has been called on often by progressive grower organizations and agri-businesses throughout Canada to present ideas about emerging market trends and strategies for adaptation and success. In particular Brent has begun to focus his presentations toward the crucially important skills of managing difficult conversations.

TERRY L. KASTENS

Professor
Extension Specialist, Farm Management
Department of Agricultural Economics
Kansas State University

Rt. 2, Box 83
Herndon, Kansas 67739
phone:  (785) 626-9000
email:    tkastens@ksu.edu
web:     www.agmanager.info
detailed vitae available at website

Terry Kastens is a professor and extension agricultural economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.  He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University.  He has been at his K-State post since receiving his Ph.D. in 1995, and was engaged full time in farming prior to that.  He maintains partnership involvement with the family farm in northwest Kansas, a farm that continues to be a pioneer in researching and adopting technologies such as no-till and precision agriculture.

Extension and Teaching Interests:
As an extension agricultural economist, Kastens’ goal is increasing the profitability of those involved in production agriculture, especially in crops production.  His main areas of emphasis are land ownership and leasing, machinery management, and technology adoption.  But, land issues comprise the majority of his time.  Hardly a day passes when he is not involved with negotiating arrangements between landowners and tenants, or in land purchase or land sale issues and questions.  But, since land is often the residual claimant on farm profitability, a considerable part of Kastens’ educational program involves anticipating economic trends in agriculture, the most recent related to energy prices and the impact of biofuels.

Research Interests:
Kastens’ research focuses on economic risk management issues at the farm level, and the risk and profit expected of new production and management technologies.  He is especially competent in the application of unconventional statistical predictive modeling techniques, for example, neural networks, fuzzy logic, genetic algorithms, and entropy.  The purpose is always to generate more accurate mathematical models that help producers, investors, and other agribusiness decision makers increase profit and manage risk.  Kastens has a special interest in the dynamic aspects of management systems, for example crop rotations and soil changes over time.