Public and Private Partnerships for Information Delivery to Canadian Farmers- How We Are Now Doing Things Differently in Order to Catch up to the Australians

In 2001, Farm Credit Canada, a Canadian Crown Corporation, completed a benchmark study that compared farm business practices in Canada, the United States of America and Australia. The study concluded that Canada and the U. S. are similar in their practices, but fall significantly behind Australia. Canada and its provinces have recently signed on to a new Agricultural Policy Framework. This accord has put a renewed focus on business management skills. The Canadian Farm Business Management Council's mandate is to coordinate and contribute to the development of business management skills of farmers - in partnership with the federal government, provinces, university and the private sector. The Council is a small organization, and can only achieve its mandate through active partnerships. One partnership model that has been recently developed is called AgriSuccess. Farm Credit Canada spearheaded the formation of a group of organizations working together to enhance management skills. Individually, they bring different resources and skills to the table but collectively they have an objective of reaching over 2,000 farm businesses through targeted seminars and workshops. AgriSuccess is but one example of collaborative efforts that the Council will facilitate ensuring the objectives of Agricultural Policy Framework are met and that Canada continues as a world leader in agriculture. This is a new approach and one that the Council would like to share with international colleagues.