FCC event for young farmers

By Calvin Daniels Staff Writer

Farm Credit Canada

(FCC) is hosting a Young Farmer Summit, Wednesday, March 1, in Yorkton at the Painted Hand Casino.

The one-day seminar is part of a series being held across the country, the nearest to Yorkton having been a stop in Winnipeg, explained Andrew Perrault, Regional Marketing Manager, Prairies with FCC.

The seminars are “an opportunity to share knowledge and information with the young farmer demographic,” he said, adding FCC looks at farmers under 40 as young.

Perrault added the event, with targeting younger producers is open to any producer.

The four speakers of the day come from two backgrounds, those who will focus on the entrepreneurial side and others more focused the core area of agriculture.

The speakers include;

* Dale Curd: Why Aren’t We Connecting?

The Keys to Collaborative and Effective Teams

Dale Curd has spent his life listening deeply and empathetically. In this talk, he outlines key steps to ensure we are connecting better as teams – from active listening, stronger questions to different body language, he has the tips, tricks and research to lead to immediate outcomes.

* Evan Shout: Young, Broke, and in Love: How to navigate financial risk in farming

Today’s primary producers face several decisions each day that could have a material effect on profits and operations. They have to tackle financial topics such as working capital, cost of production, and margin efficiencies, as well as operational complexities such as human resources, machinery optimization, and succession and transition. How do young farmers today make decisions in this volatile market? We will take you on the journey of risk mitigation across many aspects of farming, demonstrating “boots on the ground” solutions to everyday problems. You’ll learn how financial success is linked to team members, and how to find strength and freedom in the theory of “Young, Broke, and in Love.”

* Danielle Wildfong: Relationships are the new bottom line at your farm Relationships can make or break a family farm; at core of all conflicts lies an imbalance of love and respect, trust and honesty, or control and power. We will explore the most common challenges in family business and learn how to build relationship equity in your family business and protect what’s most important to you.

* Emily O’Brien: Entrepreneurship & Emotional Profit

The hardest part about creating your own business is getting started. Fear leads to doubt, doubt leads to excuses and excuses lead to failure before you even begin. Emily O’Brien started Cons & Kernels (now Comeback Snacks) in prison, without access to the internet, without the ability to test her market, and a consumer base that might be apprehensive about doing business with a convict. Learn how she stayed determined and created a business that provides her emotional profit by helping others.

While admission is free, those wishing to attend are asked to preregister at www.eventbrite.ca/e/fcc-youngfarmer-summit-yorktonregistration-436226153167 this is high stakes.”

Signarowski will compete in several different gymastics events on Feb. 23 and 24, including beam, vault, floor and uneven bars.