If you don’t know how to proceed, Reg gets the ball rolling. His experience appeals to the older generation, and he also helps the young farm communicate goals and ideas so everyone understands each other. He’s extremely personable and his energy is catching. I aspire to be like Reg, helping farmers help themselves. He’s damn good at it.

Reg has never brought me the same plan twice. He may have the same process that he uses but his end product is uniquely structured to the specific needs of that family. He is clearly passionate about agriculture. He wants to set up the next generation to succeed and he understands what success looks like.

His mediation skills are a major asset with complicated family dynamics. He is a valuable resource, excellent at what he does without trying to be a jack of all trades. He knows what he does not know and will assemble the best team to support his clients.

When clients use Reg, things really start to happen. He looks after everyone and gets results.

Reg worked on my father’s succession plan, my in-laws’ estate plan, and my own farm’s business plan. Nobody has the skill set and experience that Reg does.

I drove all the way from Whitehorse to Red Deer to meet up with Reg and get our plan done – and it was worth every penny! He gets it that farming is our life. He doesn’t pretend to know it all and have all the answers – but someone on his advisory team does. Reg’s process was defined and practical. His solutions were very effective and true to life.

We heard Reg speak at a conference in Regina. We were overwhelmed and didn’t realize that the process of succession planning was so complex. Reg made it all seem easy though, each part of the puzzle came together. He has a story for everything, explaining experiences that he has handled in the past that made us feel at ease, like we were going in the right direction.

And the most important thing that Reg did was highlight how important family was!

I give Reg complete credit for our family being able to remain a family unit. Without his assistance I really imagine that Craigmillar Farms Ltd and the Penman family would have become another farm family torn apart forever!

After a family member passed away our family (and our farm corporation) was overwhelmed. Like almost all families, we have an assortment of personalities and when emotions are involved we tend to be a little strong-willed. A few years prior, we had heard Reg speak at a seminar in Consort.

We contacted him and I was so impressed. He knows farming and is amazing at reading people’s personalities and frustrations. He offered us a number of options of how we could divide our corporation FAIRLY and connected us with folks to sort out all of the financial and tax requirements and implications. He taught us that working with a family is totally different than working with an estate.

There are no quick fixes but Reg delivered what I believe every family desires—fairness and solutions.

The best thing my wife and I ever did was use Reg to complete our succession plan. She passed away at the age of 58 in August 2016. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best thing we ever did, but it did make the hard times easier to deal with.

Cor Van Raay
May 30, 1936 - July 29, 2021

Assisting Cor Van Raay was one of the highlights of my career! I used to refer to him as the "Bill Gates of Canadian Agriculture."

He was a leader, innovator, visionary and an amazing man who did amazing things and he told me that this came naturally to him. 

Cor was a cattle and grain farmer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who positively impacted others. He believed in giving back to the community and attributed this to his success in work and life.

You will be missed by many. 

Rest In Peace Cor.