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Spring CFO Articles


There’s Something in the Water with Green Lightning Nitrogen
Green Lightning has a growing customer base that’s replacing traditional nitrogen By: Craig Macfie Farmers continue to see most line items increase in their annual operating budget. This is one reason they are interested in producing their own nitrogen on-farm with Green Lightning. Chris Nykolaishen, based in Kamsack, Saskatchewan, manages the Canadian distribution of the Green Lightning technology through his company Nytro Ag Corp www.nytro.ca . 2025 was the second growing
4 min read


What’s your farmland appreciation assumption?
Farmers and lenders should have an expectation for future farmland values By Craig Macfie Future farmland values will affect your balance sheet and your ability to refinance and execute business decisions. So, I’m surprised that future farmland values aren’t discussed more between farmers and lenders. The reason is likely because these values are speculative. Lenders deal with enough risk; they need to bank on what certainty they can. And anyone who knows for sure what farmla
3 min read


How to grow a finance team for your agribusiness
Building an agribusiness finance team requires the right mix of processes, technology and people By Craig Macfie Typical growing pains for an agribusiness include managing the overhead of accounting and finance. I like to think of the operations and sales team as the invading army – looking to conquer more acres, market share and revenue. Meanwhile the accounting and finance team functions in a supporting role as the supply lines, providing up to date information and go-forwa
3 min read


Your Fractional CFO is your Air Traffic Controller
By: Craig Macfie How much cash runway does your business have? I write this during harvest time when many of my farm clients are...
2 min read


Why do farmers hate paying taxes?
Photo credit: Sixteen Grains, Saskatoon, SK By Craig Macfie It didn’t take long in my accounting career to learn that farmers don’t like...
3 min read


Let's Find Farm Financing
Since 2024, Spring CFO has helped family farms and agribusinesses secure over $50 million in new bank credit facilities. This financing...
1 min read


Farming in a high-cost environment
(Source: Global Ag Risk Solutions Western Canada data) By Craig Macfie The cost to farm in Western Canada has doubled in the past fifteen...
4 min read


It’s Time to Go Digital
To fully digitize farm bookkeeping involves accounting software coupled with a digital receipts and record-keeping system By Craig Macfie...
3 min read


2022-level farm profits are over. What’s next?
By Craig Macfie It looks like 2022-level profitability is over for farms in Western Canada. The decline of commodity markets combined...
3 min read


Attracting the right kind of capital
Capital is required to grow the farm business but sometimes it takes an innovative approach By: Craig Macfie Agriculture’s future will...
3 min read


The Farm Growth Formula
By Craig Macfie Capital + Risk + Execution = Farm Growth “Change is inevitable, growth is optional” is a quote from John C. Maxwell. It’s...
3 min read


The building blocks of farm finance
By: Craig Macfie In my career as a farm CPA and CFO I’ve noticed some recurring themes. Balance sheets and consolidation are increasing,...
3 min read


More owners at your farm table
Bringing more siblings and cousins on board can strengthen your farm, but be sure to do it right By: Craig Macfie Historically, most...
4 min read


What I've Learned as a Fractional Farm CFO
A career as a fractional CFO is emerging as an option for finance professionals with the right mix of experience and entrepreneurial spirit.
3 min read


Watch your grain inventory adjustment
With the winter’s drop in grain prices, it’s important to track your inventory adjustment to avoid cash-flow and financing surprises By:...
3 min read


Build a Better Crop Budget
Financial management is evolving as fast as agronomy. Your budget can have the best of both Crop planning involves decisions on return...
3 min read


The Four Finance Roles Every Farm Needs
Whether the CFO is the farm owner or hired out, their job is to look to the future, mitigate risk, and manage growth.
3 min read
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