"I’m not going skiing with a bunch of older boys," nine-year-old Jenny said on Saturday morning. "They won’t wait for me." “They will,” her mother, Elaine, said. “The twins might get sick of waiting for her,” Jenny’s 12-year-old brother, Connor, said. “Their mom will make them wait,” Elaine said. “They won’t want to, so they[...]
Putting autonomous machinery to the test
Anyone who has operated or worked on repairing machinery has from time to time cursed the engineer who came up with an awkward design, or when fighting with a part that is nearly impossible to remove and replace when it fails. But what if one of the major brands knocked on your door and asked[...]
Making the farm less dangerous, step by step
For most of us, the sight of just one accident is all it takes to get us taking more reasonable precautions. So, imagine you are Krista Harris and you have seen what she has seen. As a career firefighter with over 20 years service with the Abbotsford Fire Department, Harris has attended innumerable motor vehicle[...]
Hanson Acres: Nothing to worry about, not on a fine day like this
Jeff walked over from the shop to say goodbye to his wife, Elaine, as she was getting into her SUV on Sunday afternoon. “Have a good meeting,” he said. “I’ll be home late on Tuesday,” she reminded him. “The kids are skating on the dugout. I left stew in the crock pot for you and[...]
Suspect in California farm worker shootings appears in court
Redwood City, Calif. | Reuters -- A California farm worker accused of shooting seven people to death near San Francisco, some of them his co-workers, made his first court appearance on Wednesday after he was charged with murder in the state's second deadly gun rampage in recent days. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in[...]
The way to retire
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[...]
Biggest U.S. rail union rejects tentative deal, raising threat of strike
Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters -- Workers at the largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September, raising the possibility of a year-end strike that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy and strand vital shipments of food and fuel. Train and engine service members of the transportation division of[...]
Selling the farm
You only sell the farm once. Obviously, you don’t get to this point lightly. So, what is your first step? Do you sell the whole farm, or go piecemeal? How can you be sure you get the market price? Will you get nailed for taxes? You’ve spent a lifetime — and there’s a good chance[...]
Out of thin air
A new technology that turns air, renewable energy and water into nitrogen fertilizer could reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide farmers with consistent local access to a nutrient that’s proving to be better for crops. Nicolas Pinkowski. “We use the same fundamental process as a lightning storm,” says Nicolas Pinkowski, co-founder and CEO[...]
The diversity gap
Canada’s population is becoming increasingly diverse. Statistics Canada estimates that immigrants made up roughly 22 per cent of the population in 2016, and our country expects to welcome over 400,000 more per year until 2024. This will almost certainly result in a continually growing percentage of visible minorities among Canada’s working age people over the[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
