Celebrating 2025 and Looking Ahead to 2026

Dear Members, Partners, and Supporters,

As we close out 2025, I want to extend heartfelt thanks for the trust you place in Farm Management Canada and for the work you do every day to keep Canadian agriculture strong, innovative, and resilient through farm management excellence.

A year defined by resilience and by smart management

This year reminded us that strong farm businesses are built for uncertainty: market volatility, trade disruption, climate and weather extremes, labour pressures, and ongoing risk across everything from input costs to biosecurity. In that environment, farm business management isn’t “extra” – it’s essential.

What we accomplished together in 2025

We focused on practical, producer-first learning and tools, made possible through the commitment of our members, partners, supporters, Board, and staff, and most of all, our program participants. Highlights include:

• Farm Transition Planning training and support, including our Bridging the Gap workshops that bring generations together for real conversations and forward motion.
• Farm Financial Literacy programming and efforts to create a national standard set of farm financial statements to build confidence through financial fluency.
• Proactive Risk Management, including the AgriShield platform, training, and a new report: Striking the Balance that supports comprehensive risk management.
• Leadership development, including national programming and new offerings designed to strengthen self-awareness and relationships to support the people side of farming.
• Timely learning through Agriwebinars, helping farmers and advisors stay ahead of the game.
• Convening and collaboration through national forums and events, including our Agricultural Excellence Conference and broader sector partnerships and projects.

A special invitation: Farm Transition Appreciation Day – January 8, 2026

As we head into the holidays and look toward a new year, I’d love for our community to rally around one of the most important conversations in Canadian agriculture: farm transition.

Farm Transition Appreciation Day (FTADay) takes place Thursday, January 8, 2026, with this year’s theme: “The Future is Now.”

FTADay is about celebrating progress – big or small – and motivating each other to start, restart, and keep going with transition planning.

What we’re looking forward to in 2026

We’re heading into 2026 focused on what you’ve told us you need most: practical tools, strong peer learning, and programming that helps you make confident decisions in a complex environment. That includes continuing to elevate transition planning, financial fluency, risk management, and leadership capacity across farm businesses, so Canadian farms are positioned not only to endure, but to thrive. I’m also honoured and privileged to be part of the organizing committee for the 25th International Farm Management Congress #IFMA25 and invite you to join us in Rosario, Argentina from February 22-28 to expand your horizons and build your international peer network.

With gratitude and an open door

Whether you’re a producer, advisor, educator, industry partner, or supporter, thank you for being part of our journey. If there’s one wish I have for you this winter, it’s this: make space for the conversations that secure the future, especially the ones that feel hard to start. Afterall, people decisions are business decisions.