Growing the Future

Liquidity & Legacy
With Ted Cawkwell, The Cawkwell Group
Farm balance sheets may look strong on paper. But beneath the surface, lending behavior is changing, capital is more disciplined, and the margin for error is narrowing.
In this live conversation, Dan and Ted discuss:
Why profitable farms can still experience financial pressure
The difference between strategic sales and forced sales
How liquidity issues surface before they become obvious
What well-prepared farm operations tend to have in common
Why “just hold the land” isn’t always a complete strategy
Ted works directly with farm families, lenders, and advisors across Western Canada and beyond. As the #1 RE/MAX farmland realtor globally, he has been involved in hundreds of farmland transactions and sees patterns long before they become headlines.
This episode is not about predictions. It’s about structure, positioning, and understanding how capital behaves when conditions shift.
Chapters / Timestamps 
00:00 – Introduction & why this conversation matters 
02:30 – Market sentiment vs. reality on farmland values 
06:45 – What’s changed recently in buyer and seller behavior 
12:30 – Profitability, cash flow, and leverage pressures 
18:00 – Liquidity vs. legacy: real tradeoffs 
26:00 – Investor behavior, rental land, and capital availability 
34:00 – Risk, balance sheets, and selling strategically 
42:00 – Productive vs. marginal land dynamics 
50:30 – Perspective, cycles, and long-term thinking

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This is Part 3 of a three-part live conversation with Robert Andjelic, Canada’s largest farmland owner and this is where the discussion got real. 
No slides. 
No prepared remarks. 
Just live questions from producers, lenders, and operators trying to understand what happens when capital tightens. 
In this session, Robert responds to questions about: 
– Cash flow vs land value 
– How banks actually behave when risk rises 
– Why liquidity disappears before prices fall 
– What breaks first when leverage is stretched 
– How operators protect the land when margins compress 
– And why “survival” is not failure, it’s strategy 
Several moments in this Q&A landed hard, including Robert’s blunt reminder: “Your balance sheet won’t save you if your cash flow breaks.” This conversation isn’t theory. It’s lived experience, shared in real time.
00:00 Part 3 - Audience Q&A & Closing
05:40 Banking Relationships and Financial Advice
12:01 Global Agriculture and Market Dynamics
33:30 Cryptocurrency and AI in Agriculture
41:21 The Inevitability of War and Global Tensions
41:46 China's Ambitions and Global Power Dynamics
42:34 Climate Change and Carbon Credits
44:51 Agricultural Financing and Real Estate
51:42 Interest Rates and Economic Predictions
56:35 Farmland Investment Strategies
01:06:19 Global Trade and Agricultural Competitiveness
01:23:48 Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

 

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In this episode, we discuss:
Why capital availability matters more than interest rates
What lenders look for first when credit tightens
How to speak to banks using the metrics that matter
Why preparation gives producers leverage
How operators separate themselves in tighter cycles
🎧 This is Part II of a three-part series with Robert Andjelic.
Part I explores why a capital squeeze may be coming
Part II focuses on how to prepare
Part III examines outcomes, opportunities, and who benefits as cycles turn

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Is There a Capital Squeeze in Agriculture?
In this special live episode, Dan Aberhart sits down with Robert Andjelic to explore a question many producers are quietly asking:
Is capital tightening around agriculture — and if so, why now?
This is not a prediction episode and not financial advice.
It’s a first-principles conversation about how credit systems work, what lenders are responding to, and why agriculture is being affected indirectly by pressures elsewhere in the economy.
In this episode, we cover:
Why banks are under pressure — and why agriculture is not the problem
How commercial real estate, shadow banking, and regulation affect farm credit
Where we are in the broader economic and capital cycle
Why capital availability matters more than interest rates
How agriculture differs from other asset classes during downturns
Why preparation and clarity matter more than prediction
Robert also shares perspective from decades of experience across commercial real estate, capital markets, and farmland investing — including why he believes agriculture remains one of the strongest long-term sectors, even as conditions tighten.
This episode is Part One of a two-part series
Part One: Understanding the capital environment and why this time is different
Part Two: What to do next — practical preparation, lender conversations, and positioning
If you operate a farm, ag business, or work closely with agricultural finance, this episode is designed to help you think more clearly about the environment ahead — without panic, and without noise.

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Episode Notes
Why most diets work briefly—and then quietly collapse
The hidden cost of extreme approaches to food and fitness
Growing up overweight and learning to separate identity from behavior
Why protein, fiber, hydration, and sleep are foundational—not optional
The difference between weight loss and health
Alcohol, energy, and the trade-offs we don’t like to talk about
Why tracking creates awareness, not obsession
How agriculture schedules complicate nutrition—and how to adapt
Accountability as a support system, not a punishment
Building habits that can survive busy seasons, travel, and stress
This episode is a reminder:
You don’t need a new body.
You need a way of living that doesn’t break the one you have.

Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.