Agribusiness
Tips, trends, and tech to power your next decade of growth
Action items for crop farmers and ranchers to prepare for the next 10 years.
By ATB Financial 28 February 2025 2 min read
The world is constantly changing. For Alberta’s agricultural producers, it’s as important to have short-term business plans that help to navigate these risks as to have long-term plans that keep an operation running for generations to come.
We asked experts from the ATB Agriculture Team for tips that will be key for farmers and ranchers for the next 10 years.
Keep pace with technology
Increased access to high-speed internet has proven incredibly valuable to farmers and ranchers. Where accessible, it can capture substantial data from sensors and equipment that can be centralized by a farm management platform to further productivity and profitability.
“For example, on-farm weather stations can support predictive models for crop or ranch operation, decision support, and planning decisions for the next year,” notes Jon Neutens, Vice President and Head of Agriculture at ATB.
“Equipment today collects vast amounts of data throughout the growing season,” adds Robert Jensen, Director of ATB’s cropping segment. “Having the ability to organize and interpret the story the data is telling about the crop helps you make informed decisions now and for future crop seasons.”
To support and promote agritech innovation within the province, ATB has partnered with agrifood innovation and investment platform SVG Ventures | THRIVE, Olds College on the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, and the AgSmart educational expo, owned and managed by Agri-Trade Equipment Expo. These events showcase tech innovations and their benefits when applied to agriculture operations, delivering key information to farmers and ranchers across Alberta.
Keep your business plan up to date
Preparing for the future of a farm or ranch includes maintaining a flexible business plan. ATB’s relationship managers bring you industry expertise that can help adapt business plans to every stage of your operation.
“ATB’s dedicated agriculture team aligns our customers with an advisor who is able to actively participate in the planning process, and also provide feedback at critical checkpoints within the time frame of the plan,” says Jensen. “Each of our advisors has access to tools and expertise in agriculture finance. This support network brings first-hand experience with successful farming operations across the province.”
“Sustainable business plans aim to evolve an agricultural operation beyond the aspirations of current owners, and anticipate the needs of future generations,” adds Neutens.
“A good plan should not just take the next growing season into account, but also your longer-term objectives—which should include succession,” he says. “This way, you will make more strategic decisions about many aspects of your operation, including land management and technology adoption, just to name a couple of key areas.”
ATB can help you develop a forward-looking financial plan to reach those multigenerational goals, in addition to realizing near-term opportunities and mitigating risk.
Expert advice at every stage of growth
Staying current with trends and innovation is important to ATB, because it’s critical to our agribusiness customers in an increasingly complex industry. Whether you are just getting started, expanding locally, crossing borders, or considering an exit, your ATB relationship manager’s expert advice, financial services and strategic insights can help your agribusinesses through the next decade.
“Our agriculture team strives to stay current with technological advances in all areas of agriculture, whether it be equipment, strategies, practices, or even crop development. Because when our customers come to us to discuss what direction they need to take, we want to be right there with them, knowledge-wise, and offer relevant advice to help their farm succeed. ” says Jensen.
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