Reading Time: 6 minutes As chair of the Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum (CYFF), and as a millennial herself, Danielle Lee has heard all the stereotypes about millennial farmers, and she knows the challenges millennials face. Lee’s job is to speak out on behalf of young farmers, and to ensure they grow into a positive force in these trying times […] Read more
The millennial question
Do millennials have the discipline it takes to deliver on their promise?
C’mon, get happy!
‘Plastician’ Jen Moss tells us why happiness is the right goal if you really want to drive the profitability of your business
Reading Time: 5 minutes Making more money this year would make me very happy. But what if just being happier is what it takes to make our farm more profitable? Clearly, this sounds too good to be true, so I went to Jennifer Moss, the author of Unlocking Happiness at Work. She’s also the co-founder of “Plasticity Labs,” a […] Read more
Young farmers are on board and looking ahead
Innovative training programs are raising the leadership capabilities of Canada’s youngest farmers
Reading Time: 7 minutes Imagine that tomorrow, you wake up and every commodity group and farm association you can think of needs to have an election. All their boards need entirely new directors, and there’s been a scramble to nominate the right people to fill those spots. How many of the candidates would be in their early 30s? Or […] Read more
Dairy producer takes the next big step
Change Makers: As a couple, the Craigs’ decision to transform their farm and leverage new opportunities has opened up a new future
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today’s farmers are change makers. Re-inventing our farms has become normal. So Country Guide asked top ag journalists from across the country to interview farmers who excel at change, taking their farms in very different directions with an eye to finding their best opportunities. Their stories start with our January 2017 issue and will continue through […] Read more
The forage value of cover crops
Western research shows cover crops can be worth their weight for grazing or even baling
Reading Time: 6 minutes Extended drought has forced many farmers across Eastern Canada to seek alternate feed sources for the coming winter. It’s even got some producers thinking about the cover crops on their farm and on neighbouring farms. The growing popularity of cover crops among grain farmers may have come at just the right time for cattle farmers […] Read more
Dry weather weed control in IP soybeans
Weed control in IP soybeans is always a challenge. This year, it was nearly impossible… but not on all farms
Reading Time: 5 minutes Good weed control in Eastern Canada’s identity-preserved soybean fields this year appears to be just as patchy as the spring and summer rains, particularly in southern Ontario and parts of Quebec. Even Roundup Ready beans were slow to canopy in between rescue rains and required more in-season attention than usual. Then, as crops headed toward […] Read more
Profit-making N strategies for growing corn
After a dry season, maybe it’s time for some hard thinking about how you apply nitrogen
Reading Time: 5 minutes Producers who applied their nitrogen in one pass this year at least minimized their application expenses. Those who opted for a split application and managed to co-ordinate it with well-timed rain perhaps gained more for their efforts. Undoubtedly, however, both are questioning if their strategy was the right way to go this time. And because […] Read more
Finding the right farm mentor
Should farm groups be pushing harder to set up mentoring programs?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Unfortunately for many of us, by the time wisdom finally catches up with us, we are already beginning to feel our age. There are just so many things to learn on the farm, and you only get so many chances to learn them. Every spring is different, every barn is different, every market is different. […] Read more
Bedding with soy straw
These farmers are learning the tricks to make it work in the field and in the barn
Reading Time: 7 minutes There’s been great interest in experimenting with crop residues for bedding, and although no one professes to have a perfect solution, there is a lot to be learned from those with growing experience, which means talking to Darin McDonald, a farmer who has baled it all. Equipped with a 150-horsepower tractor and either a Hesston […] Read more
A new look at 30-inch rows for soybeans
If you think the case is closed on 30-inch rows, get ready to think again
Reading Time: 7 minutes Soybean growers near the Ontario-Quebec border have tested wide rows, and some have even adopted them already as a way of managing white mould pressure. The disease thrives here. even though agronomists can’t exactly say why. But there’s also more to the 30-inch debate than just mould control. Based in the eastern end of the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
