Reading Time: 4 minutes Jeff stomped his boots on the step before he opened the door, then stomped again inside the porch to shake the rest of the snow loose. “March is coming in like a lion,” he shouted down the hall to his wife Elaine. “It’s snowing so hard out there I could barely see the road. And […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Getting away, maybe for good
When friends announce their surprise plans, it has a way of making everyone think
Hanson Acres: It never gets that cold – not really!
“Won’t it be too cold for ice cream?”
Reading Time: 5 minutes The air compressor was running so Mark Edwards didn’t hear Elaine Hanson come into the Hanson’s shop. But once it shut off, it made him jump to find her standing right behind him, waving a piece of paper and yelling. He frowned, then started to grin. “You must’ve picked up the mail,” he nodded. Elaine’s […] Read more
Editor’s Note: If you were steering the ship
Reading Time: 2 minutes Country Guide is taking a hard look at where we’re heading and how we’re getting there. Are we getting the job done for you? Is it the right job? How can we make a bigger difference? It’s a healthy thing. Here at Country Guide we’ve launched a kind of performance review over the past several […] Read more
Editor’s Note: It’s time to ask the question
Reading Time: 2 minutes Family businesses are different. A non-family business’s goal is to make money. A family business’s goal is both to build legacy and create opportunity. And it’s more than that too Most likely, we’ve all heard it. Almost as many of us have said it, and at least as many actually do believe it. It can […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Nothing to worry about, not on a fine day like this
Reading Time: 4 minutes 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 […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Competent, not boastful
Reading Time: 2 minutes Like every other issue of Country Guide, our pages show Canada’s farms are getting more and more individualistic. That’s a good thing. It’s a professional thing. And it won’t stop If you’re having a bad day, you’ll find our January 2023 issue of Country Guide a pretty easy target. That’s okay. For example, Richard Kamchen […] Read more
Hanson Acres: “It’s moving east!”
Neighbours drop everything, Donna races home … our story continues
Reading Time: 5 minutes The smoke had worked its way into the tractor cab, making it harder for Jeff to see. His cell phone buzzed and he grabbed it. “I don’t know if we can keep this fire out of your yard.” It was Brian Miller. “My son’s got the Pro-Till over there. There’s flames right behind him.” Jeff […] Read more
Editor’s Note: That thing about young farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Today’s mid-career farmers have got things figured out. They know they’re different. They’re more professional, they’re more management oriented, they’re more strategic, but … But, as a group, they’re at risk of getting outshone by the young farmers in the next generation that are starting to show what they can do. You’ll see it in […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Fire threatens the farm
“It’s moving east too,” Jeff said, and everyone knew what that meant
Reading Time: 5 minutes Harvest was finished at the Hanson farm. No longer needed out in the field, Elaine finally had time to get the books back up to date. She had been doing the Hanson’s bookkeeping for years since her mother-in-law had turned the software over, and she hated getting too far behind, especially with year-end coming up. […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Who’s that driving down the lane?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compare the yard and buildings outside your back door with that tired old stretch of Main Street in your nearby town. It’s obvious where you’d rather do business. Or is it? It’s rarely wise to generalize in agriculture, so let me put this generalization down in print right away and we can move past it. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
