Here’s an unpopular question. When are you going to retire from the farm? This is often a taboo topic because it’s hard to know when you’ll be ready, and just as hard, if not harder, to know what it means to retire. To a farmer, retirement could read like a death sentence. Or does it[...]
Drop the Ball
I was going to start this column with“This one is for you, ladies!” as the main audience for the book is certainly women. But honestly, as Tiffany Dufu’s book Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less suggests, everyone could benefit by occasionally dropping that ball — especially during these harried, upsidedown times. It’s particularly[...]
Three Lean books to read in 2021
Lean in Agriculture: Create More Value with Less Work on the Farm By Vibeke Fladkjaer Nielsen and Susanne Pejstrup The Lean Dairy Farm: Eliminate Waste, Save Time, Cut Costs By Jana Hocken with Mat Hocken The Lean Farm: How to Minimize Waste, Increase Efficiency, and Maximize Value and Profits with Less Work By Ben Hartman[...]
The many sides of grief
We know that grief is a natural response when a loved one dies. What we may not realize, though, is that we may also grieve, sometimes for years, from non-death losses too. Losing the family farm, getting divorced, living with a debilitating illness, being estranged from one’s child, the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic… all[...]
Get smarter with your smartphone
There’s no doubt that smartphones are an incredible tool for farmers. We get the power of the internet in a device that fits in our pockets. With it comes the ability to check the weather, sell grain, listen to an audiobook, or identify a weed at the touch of our fingertips. Add in social media,[...]
There’s Always A Better Way
My neighbour Wilf Smalley is a proud man. You hear it in his voice when he insists that he has never called a tow truck to the farm in 30 years.That’s a formidable achievement for anyone who farms the gumbo clay soils on the gentle slopes of Petunia Valley. I have personally watched Wilf play[...]
Reflections - for Apr. 12, 2010
“Would you canvas for the Heart and Stroke Foundation?” As I approached retirement, I was cautioned, “People will assume you have time on your hands and they will ask you to do all kinds of volunteer work.” Their forecast is coming true. Perhaps I am conditioned to accept the request. There have been strokes and[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
