In 1993, the Eusi family left their dairy farm in Switzerland, arriving in southwestern Ontario with a vision for building something that could support not just one generation, but many to come.

“He’s probably one of the most successful farmers I know,” says Kyle Rupp of his dad, Gary. “He started from the ground up and made all of this possible.”

The 2026 Canadian Dairy Business Summit included two dairy producers who have successfully navigated the farm succession process. Paul MacLeod of Darcroft Farms near Embro, Ontario, and Clarence Markus of Markvale Holsteins near Beachville, Ontario, detailed their respective roads to completing their plans.

Healthy communication can be defined in many ways, but in general, all these ways include three main themes: clarity, respect and promoting understanding. Making sure you are building healthy communication habits, especially surrounding topics like your mental health, doesn’t just happen. It is a skill that is learned by practice and planning.

I remember the day our son said he didn’t want to ride horses. We couldn’t blame him because he is allergic to them, and his allergies weren’t getting any better. Yet it wasn’t just the allergies that made him want to stop.

As I write this, I can hear the crunching of roof and tin being pulled away from our old dry cow barn on our dairy farm. The barn has been here for longer than I have. Shortly after we purchased our own herd, the barn became a dry pen. So, for the past 21 years, the barn has served as the place where basically all our animals calved.

Have you come to the end of a long day and still felt guilty about not working harder and longer? Have you felt guilty about not spending more time with your family and friends but kept working? Have you worked long hours but wondered whether you were making any progress?

He calls himself a Rigby town kid, but Dennis Lake was truly his grandfather’s right-hand man on the ranch just north of town. At 88, Lake is still a critical part of the operation. 

A move to Wisconsin – and a sorrel pony named Ginger – helped a young girl find her place.

Graeme Finn could have been happy raising cattle anywhere in the world, so long as there was grass to graze and land to improve. Where he and his family ended up raising cattle, grazing grass and improving land is in the foothill country of western Alberta near the town of Madden.