Reading Time: 5 minutes “It’s different than self-esteem,” says Sara Mann, of the University of Guelph. “Self-esteem is your overall belief in yourself. Self-efficacy is task specific… it’s the belief that you can actually do your job.” Self-efficacy is an idea whose time is right, says Mann, who has trained over 120 farm owners and supervisors on how to […] Read more
Job descriptions: The right HR tool for our farms
“Self-efficacy” is a concept worth learning for farmers who want to manage their way to better farm productivity
Taking the farm beyond the family
It takes smarts and determination to use your farm to help a new farmer get their start, but the rewards can be deeply satisfying
Reading Time: 9 minutes Four years ago, Tom and Margaret Towers were facing a dilemma that’s becoming increasingly common for farm couples as they move into what are politely called their senior years. The Towers knew they couldn’t continue to manage alone forever, and they also knew they wouldn’t want to leave the farm near Red Deer, which they’d […] Read more
Corn silage moves west
The prospect of more tons per acre and fewer worries about harvest weather is prompting some cattle producers to park the baler
Reading Time: 6 minutes High land prices and persistent problems with haying weather in Western Canada are prompting more cattle producers to consider corn silage. Acreage has increased steadily in for the past five years, especially in Alberta where producers seeded 110,000 acres of silage corn in 2016, up from 70,000 acres in 2012. “New genetics have made corn […] Read more
Meet in the boardroom
Change Makers: A two-pronged plan helped Stokes Seeds grow its business, despite strong personalities within the family
Reading Time: 9 minutes Wayne Gale never forgot something he heard at a seminar 20 years ago, just after he had made the decision to enter the family business and work with his father. “When there are only two people running a business,” the speaker said, “it’s an argument.” So what do you do when you have two smart, […] Read more
Alberta’s Green Certificate
This high school program lets students graduate by gaining agricultural and on-farm experience
Reading Time: 5 minutes Agriculture is all about cultivating, nurturing and producing, so it’s no coincidence that a unique and highly successful high school training program in Alberta is using those exact words to describe its vision. “The Green Certificate Program cultivates partnerships, and allows us to nurture Alberta’s youth to produce the province’s agricultural future,” says Raelene Mercer, […] Read more
Building a traditional farm for a modern world
Change Makers: Yesterday’s values can still guide their farm today, Jason and Laura Kehler are discovering, but only if those values are re-engineered for efficiency, and for a new business climate
Reading Time: 8 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 […] Read more
A cattle company finding its own way
They’re risk takers who hate to lose and aren’t afraid to trust their own instincts, which is why, on the road to diversification, the Blairs have drawn their own map
Reading Time: 7 minutes Kevin Blair has never forgotten what his grandfather told him many years ago: “When everyone else is on the highway, take the grid.” It’s a message he’s made most of his life decisions by, and in the course of it, Blair Ag has learned how to tackle many of the issues that are moving to […] Read more
Mentorships get real
Today’s mentorships are more relevant than ever, with a focus that includes business management, risk analysis, employee motivation and much more
Reading Time: 7 minutes On the traditional family farm, parents, grandparents and other family members have always been the mentors for those who follow, and agriculture today owes a tremendous debt to them for having trained generation after generation of new farmers. But today is also different. Canada’s farms are more complex than ever, and they’re only getting more […] Read more
Prairie soybeans still heading west
The relatively disease- and pest-free honeymoon may be coming to an end in Manitoba, but soybeans continue their march west
Reading Time: 5 minutes It was yet another record year for Manitoba soybean acreage, with 1.6 million acres of what is now the province’s third-largest crop behind wheat and canola. But as the crop becomes more established, and with the wet conditions this year, diseases are starting to show up, which is presenting challenges for agronomists and changing priorities […] Read more
Wheat’s turn to shine
Despite shrinking government support in recent years, there have been remarkable research payoffs, and new investments promise even more
Reading Time: 5 minutes High prices have made some of the advances in canola yields look pretty good in recent years, masking the fact that average Prairie wheat yield increases have been even higher. But with new private and public research investments and recognition that it’s not just a necessary part of the rotation, wheat is starting to grab […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
