With 2024 fast approaching, our team is taking some time to pause and reflect as we think about our goals and strategies for the next business cycle. The winter months are a great time to revisit our business plan and to go forward, we must look back.

So, on that note, I asked our key team members to reflect on moments or sayings throughout their career that have inspired change, a mental shift or a game-changing concept that has changed the way we do business at HGV. And, interestingly, they sometimes come from who and when you least expect.

Here are five concepts from my team that have become “game changers” on the farm:

3+3=6, 2+4=6, 1+5=6  

 

“We had an employee who would tell us this all the time when we would suggest an alternative way to do the task he was in the process of completing. Unless we want to micro-manage every task to ensure it’s done as we would do it, we have to learn to let people do it their way as long as we get the desired outcome. I learned from this employee that, as a leader, you must overcome the urge to micro-manage if you want to scale your business.” – Jeff Warkentin 

Bring a Shovel 

“This was the moment I realized I was no longer an employee and was now a leader on the Hebert Group team. The actual quote was, “ If you are going to bring dead cats, bring a shovel.” It’s the idea that if you are going to identify issues or concerns, make sure you come with solutions for the group as well. Too often employees rely on complaining or can easily come up with things that are going wrong.  The quote opens free thought and lets individuals provide thoughtful solutions before bringing up the issue.” – Evan Shout 

Managing people would be a great job if it wasn’t for the people

“I had a boss who used this line a lot. It was obvious that he didn’t enjoy his job and really should have been in a position that allowed him to work alone most of the time. Some people seek management positions because they associate it with prestige and a higher salary. This quote had a huge impact on me because it helped me decide I did want to pursue a career in management so I could build and lead a successful team.” – Jeff  

 

The Gap and The Gain

This is a popular one on our team and it has had a huge impact on all of us. The Gap and The Gain is a book by Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach. It refers to the idea that if we’re chasing perfection, we’ll never get there – that’s when you’re in the gap. But, when we measure ourselves against our previous selves, we can see how far we’ve come – that’s what Sullivan refers to as “the gain.” This is particularly important for entrepreneurs and management because we are always moving the goalposts and can tend to feel like we’re not getting anywhere. At certain times in your career, or in farming, you need to stop and look back at how far you have come. Then celebrate the wins as you constantly move the goalposts further out. For our team this became apparent when we started using the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System); it requires that you break down long-term goals into short manageable periods, quarterly for us. This way you always get to see the achievements throughout the year and you are not waiting for a decade before you identify how far you have come. – Evan

If you build it, they will come 

“This was a constant message that Kristjan provided when I started at Hebert Group regarding opportunities. If we focused on what we were good at on both the farm and the consulting business, opportunities would approach us, and we would not have to go looking. Our consulting business was built on zero sales or marketing and most of Farmer Coach was industry and producers coming to us. We don’t pay for marketing or leads for either of these businesses, but we do invest in public relations and social media. Even when it comes to land expansion, we have people approaching us because we’ve established a reputation as great operators, with a strong brand and high level of financial acumen. “ – Evan

One of the best things you can do as a leader is to share these concepts with your team. Don’t keep the gems you’ve learned to yourself. When leaders can admit they’ve made mistakes, learned, and grown from them, they’ll inspire your team to do the same.

We’ve got a few more to share with you in Part Two of our next blog.

 

Study will inform a national carbon credit measurement, verification and reporting system 

 

News Release

 

April 26, 2023 – Moosomin, SK – Hebert Grain Ventures will be the site of a national case study that will see HGV’s 32,000 acres of grain and canola farmland used to quantify the amount of carbon being sequestered with the ultimate goal of developing a measurement, verification and reporting system that will help Canadian farmers generate and sell quality carbon credits.

The Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA) will work with HGV and researchers from the University of Saskatchewan. Other collaborators involved in the study include the University of Ottawa’s Smart Prosperity Institute and the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute. Advisory support is being provided by RBC, Nature United, Nutrien, Maple Leaf, Loblaw and Boston Consulting

Group.

“We’re really excited to be involved in this study as it demonstrates our interest, willingness and optimism that carbon credits can provide another stream of revenue for Canadian farmers without jeopardizing agricultural output,” says Kristjan Hebert, president of the Hebert Group, a family of agricultural companies including Hebert Grain Ventures.

Up until now, Canadian farmers have been reluctant to participate in the carbon offset market due to confusion over carbon credit eligibility, invalidated credits and low carbon offset prices. 

“Many farmers think the carbon offset program is just a bunch of government hearsay. We’re attempting to gather the data to prove that using farming practices that lower emissions is not only good for the environment but can actually translate into revenue and a cheque,” says Hebert.

The 12-month in-field, research and development case study will begin this month. Researchers will test and validate new technologies, like remote sensing and spectroscopy, that can potentially measure carbon more efficiently.

“Rigorous testing of these technologies will ensure we have scientifically-defensible methods for quantifying and comparing the impact of management changes, over time and across different soil types and climate zones,” said Angela Bedard-Haughn, Professor of Soil Science and Dean at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at University of Saskatchewan. “Building a comprehensive soil organic carbon database will also provide a foundation for modeling future change under further land use and climate changes.”

By the end of the project, the goal is to develop a prototype MRV (measurement, reporting, verification) system that has the capacity to measure & model the impact of soil health management practices and generate high-quality carbon assets that meet industry verification standards.

“Canada’s farms manage one of the world’s largest inventories of agricultural land and sustainable practices can give farmers unparalleled power to cut emissions, and improve air and water quality, soil health, and biodiversity,” said Mohamad Yaghi, Agriculture and Climate Policy Lead at RBC’s Economic & Thought Leadership.  “And while the credit market could be enormous – as much as $2 billion to $4 billion more by 2050 – there remain significant economic obstacles to farmers adopting these practices. Kristjan is the innovative farmer Canada needs because of his dedication to building innovative solutions to evolve the entire industry and help producers get rewarded for what they preserve.”

The next phase of the study would see the low-cost, scalable prototype MRV system used for production testing through a pilot program during the 2024 growing season.

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About Hebert Grain Ventures (HGV):

HGV is a progressive 32,000-acre grain and oilseed operation in Moosomin, SK. HGV is obsessed with solving agriculture’s puzzles. HGV is built on the belief that it leaves the land and the financial statements in a better state for future generations. 

 

About Canadian Alliance for Net ZeroAgri-food (CANZA) :

CANZA is associated with the RBC Climate Action Institute which works closely with businesses and industry partners to design practical ways to reduce net emissions. It will focus initially on buildings & real estate, agriculture, and energy systems.

 

 

Moosomin, SK – Jan. 9, 2023 – The Hebert Group will be making significant financial investments in several southeastern Saskatchewan communities through its new Deep Roots Foundation. With the goal of improving the quality of life for those living in rural communities, the charitable foundation has three priority areas including agriculture, athletics and community wellness. 

To kick off the launch of the Foundation, all employees of the Hebert Group received $500 in December to donate to an organization of their choice. 

“This is something that we have been wanting to do for a long time and is really important to our team. We all live and have kids in these communities and we want to see them thrive here – whether it’s a new rink, hospital equipment or a 4H Club. We love rural Saskatchewan and want people to stay here,” says Kristjan Hebert, President of The Hebert Group.

The goal is to make significant investments in the five rural communities and city where the Hebert Group operates. Those communities are Moosomin, Whitewood, Redvers, Wawota, Maryfield and Saskatoon. 

The Deep Roots Foundation Scholarship Fund will award scholarships to post-secondary-bound grade 12 students pursuing studies in either agriculture or business. Annual scholarships of $2,000 will be awarded at each of the five local high schools. 

Hebert says the Foundation will also work closely with the Community Builders Alliance on the new Moosomin airport expansion project. Hebert Grain Ventures has already committed $25,000 to the project.

“Having an upgraded airport in Moosomin has become critical for our region. A regional airport contributes to the local economy and supports vital public services such as air ambulance, law enforcement and fire suppression,” says Hebert.

The Foundation is welcoming requests from local groups and organizations. Application forms can be found on the Deep Roots website. Completing this form is the most efficient way to ensure your request is considered. 

 

 

We are learning more about our soil with every passing year. 

Together, Dad and I have farmed about 50 crops since 1978 and, over the last five years, we are finally starting to understand what’s happening in the soil thanks to sensor technology that feeds directly into the Crop Intelligence platform, as well as satellite technology we use at Global Ag Risk.  

The system isn’t making decisions for us (yet!), but it is helping us with the timing of our decisions which continue to greatly impact and benefit production.

How does the system work?

We have a network of 12 soil probes each having numerous soil and weather sensors in the soil feeding us almost real-time data on soil moisture. We typically keep the probes in from April to October and, this winter, we decided to keep two probes in through the winter freeze so we could be better prepared heading into the spring. The system also pulls in data from John Deere weather stations in the area. The system is able to make general yield predictions based on those variables.

It’s a subscription service that we pay for annually. 

How intelligent is it?

Here’s a screenshot of how things are looking on our 30,000 acres in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan. It’s an area that was somewhat spared by the drought conditions across the Prairies last year. We were lucky; I know many farmers lost entire crops by July, without a drop of rain during 30+ degree temps. However, you can see on the left-hand side,  we actually got rain during June, July and August.

What we really like about using the Crop Intelligence system is that during the growing season we can actually see the plants wicking moisture down into their roots. We’re shown the daily use of moisture, which is a level of detail we never had before.  By the third week of June, the plants will already be drawing moisture down into their roots. I can pull up this data on my phone while out in the field and see projected yields changing day to day, and sometimes by the hour, depending on the weather.

The data and insights also help us make decisions when it comes to fertilizer application – will we need to top-dress, how much, when should we apply it? Based on moisture levels, we will tweak the prescription accordingly. Fertilizer is to plants what calories are for humans, so this is a key metric that greatly influences production.

Our goal is, eventually, for this technology to help me make decisions at least weekly, if not daily.  I tell stories of farming having its own probability cheat card like BLACKJACK, where every day we are given the odds on the decision we are about to make before we make it.  

Spring 2022 conditions and predictions

Right now, we’re heading into the 2022 seeding season with really good moisture levels thanks, in part, to the amount of snowfall we had over the winter. The soil moisture has been re-charged and we are forecasting a normal crop. If all goes well, we have the potential to grow an above-average crop this year.  Although the yield predictions are for the average parts of the field, we can see variability depending on topography, salinity, etc.

The increasing cost of seed, fuel and fertilizer are other key considerations this growing season.  An average cost of production in the black soil zone is $400 an acre, but it’s estimated some producers will see that rise to $550 an acre or more because of the cost of inputs. The current price of nitrogen is 150% higher than when we purchased it last year and potash is almost 300% higher, then add on fuel, equipment and labor all adding to the inflating cost structures for farms..

One strategy we use at HGV is to carefully manage our working capital through some unique financing strategies.  This allows us to have an aggressive pre-purchasing strategy on fuel and inputs when we feel there are opportunities. It can occasionally be a  bit riskier as no one can predict future prices, but having such a strategy this past year, as well as storage infrastructure, has been a big win.

Risk of early frost or drought conditions could negatively affect our best laid plans and projected yields, which is why we still must have a robust risk management plan (a topic for a future blog). Needless to say, we’ll be watching weather conditions closely over the coming weeks and try to adjust as necessary. 

Wishing you all the best for #Plant2022.

Kristjan

News Release 

 

January 31, 2022 

 

Saskatchewan grain farmer recognized internationally as Climate Positive Leader in agriculture 

 

Kristjan Hebert is on a mission to teach Canadian farmers about profitability and sustainability 

 

January 31, 2022 – (Moosomin, SK) – From his home in southeastern Saskatchewan, Kristjan Hebert regularly takes calls from around the world. Politicians, company CEOs and other farmers want to know his secret – how to remain profitable in an industry that is constantly balancing high costs and volatile prices with respect for the land and soil. According to Hebert, the two are not mutually exclusive. 

“To me, it’s not an either-or discussion,” says Hebert, a second-generation farmer and chartered professional accountant. Hebert is the Managing Partner of Hebert Grain Ventures, a 30,000-acre grain and oilseed farm in Moosomin, SK. 

Widely thought of as the face of modern farming practices in Canada, Hebert recently received the Climate Positive Leader award from Corteva Agriscience. As part of the program, he was invited to attend the Global Farmer Network Roundtable in Brussels, aligning with COP 26, and will receive guidance from the Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre at Ohio State University. 

The Climate Positive Leader program recognizes early adopter producers who are successfully implementing, scaling and sharing climate positive practices. As the only Canadian winner of this global award, Hebert is proud to showcase the innovative systems that support the farm’s productivity goals while protecting the land and water. 

“We were honoured to be recognized as a farm that, despite our large size, is able to effectively implement sustainable practices, both those that happen naturally and those that are aided by new technologies,” says Hebert. 

Some of those practices include:

• Grid soil sampling every four acres – allows for highly customized nutrient prescriptions even on a large field
• Treating all nitrogen with nitrogen inhibitors – prevents nitrogen breakdown and carbon burnout 
• Variable-rate fertilizer application – there is no “flat rate” for fertilizer; only use what the soil requires for yield goals 
• Precision equipment with sectional control mechanisms – sensors prevent overlap or double applications
• Rotational and fall cropping – increases soil health by lengthening the number of days the land has vegetation that absorbs carbon dioxide 
• Zero tillage/low till farming – reduces soil disturbance and carbon loss 
• Focus on data to prove rates of carbon sequestration

 

“Congratulations to Kristjan Hebert on being selected as the Canadian Climate Positive Leaders Program winner,” said Bryce Eger, President, Corteva Agriscience Canada. “Hebert Grain Ventures has been a pioneer in applying climate positive practices on their operation for nearly 30 years and continues to implement new and scalable on-farm sustainability practices. These climate positive practices are a prime example of how agriculture can be a solution to climate change, benefiting our planet, our industry and the global food system.”

Hebert advises farmers to work with multinational companies to continue implementing climate-positive practices. While many will say it’s too expensive, Hebert says sustainable practices can increase profitability by allowing them to control the cost of inputs, have bigger yields and create a regenerative and resilient farm operation.

“Sectional control, for example, prevents over-application and translates into an 11% reduction on our cost of inputs,” says Hebert. 

“Sustainability can’t stop scalability or it just won’t work. We need to scale over many acres or we just aren’t going to feed everybody,” says Hebert. World demand for Canada’s grain and oilseed supply remains strong. In 2019, Canada exported $24.2 billion of grains and oilseeds.

Hebert is a regular speaker to a variety of agricultural groups, a mentor to young farmers and a member of the Global Farmer Network. Over the next few months, he is focused on sharing agriculture’s positive role in decarbonization and advising other farmers on how to prepare for future carbon pricing legislation.

Kristjan Hebert and Bryce Eger are both available for interviews upon request. 

 

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About Hebert Grain Ventures (HGV):

 

HGV is a progressive 30,000-acre grain and oilseed operation in Moosomin, SK. HGV is obsessed with solving agriculture’s puzzles. Awarded Top Producer of 2020 by Farm Journal, HGV is built on the belief that it leaves the land and the financial statements in a better state for future generations.