"There are many secrets to success of the Farm Management Group of Ontario, according to President Patrick Séguin. “You need open-minded members who believe in the system. It’s also really important to keep financial information confidential. You need stability in your membership as well as in your advisors. And you need members who will step up once in a while and get involved in the management of the club.”
   ~ Patrick Séguin, Ferme Ricky, St. Albert, ON

Profit by participating in peer groups

Are you working with other farmers to look for new opportunities for your farm business? Those who answer “yes” to this question know that involvement in small peer groups can lead to improved profitability and quality of life.

The power of the group

There is power in a group – creative power, knowledge-based power and experience-based power. Corporations know this approach results in increased profitability, the ability to compete, and to forecast the future or implement change.

Research from the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI) demonstrates that farmers believe in this philosophy too. AMI heard from farmers who felt a need to work together to exchange advice, review information, contract professional skill sets and arrive at solutions. As champions in advancing farm business management in Ontario, AMI recently hosted a symposium to further investigate this “small groups” notion. Participants with extensive experience in small farmer groups from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Wisconsin exchanged experiences and ideas, in hopes that more Ontario farmers can benefit from small peer groups to help them remain competitive.

Focus on what’s important

“Management clubs break the solitude of farmers. If you have a problem, you have a lot of resource people to ask questions,” says Patrick Séguin, a dairy farmer from St. Albert, Ontario who speaks passionately about his experience as president and a member of Groupement de gestion agricole de l’Ontario (GGAO) or Farm Management Group of Ontario. The club’s mission is to help producers manage their business by providing access to a full-time farm management advisor, unlimited help from an agronomist and technician, as well as an entire network of like-minded farmers.

Séguin, along with his parents, milks a 100-head dairy herd. Club members since inception, the Séguins have drawn on the expertise of the club many times. When confronted with a challenge related to vet and feed costs or faced with how to build a new heifer barn, the club was there to help them find the solutions.

By working with the GGAO farm advisors, members have all they need to measure their farms’ actual profitability and confidentially compare results with the 55 other member farms.

“One of the main benefits of the management group is that it shows your strengths and weaknesses. You can work on your weakness and get a better result,” says Séguin who has been president for seven years. “The club really helps you focus on what’s important on your farm to make it more successful. For example, we’ve learned you sometimes make less money being in the field, than working in the barn with your animals where your profit comes from.”

The Séguins are also members of the St-Albert Cheese Co-operative, a farmer-owned business that markets fresh cheddar in Ontario and Quebec. This is another example of a peer group working together to leverage success.

Consider taking a new approach in your farm business by participating in a group with similar-minded farmers. By shifting from an individual to a team approach, you’ll more easily identify new opportunities and potentially turn existing frustration into future enthusiasm. Visit the new AMI website for even more ideas for your farm business.