Reading Time: 3 minutes The Farm Whisperer: Secrets to Preserving Families and Perpetuating FarmsBy David Specht, with Taneil SpechtAdvising Generations LLC If you’re comfortable with whatever plan the government might have in store for your farm business in the event of your untimely death, or if you don’t care whether the farm stays in the family, of if you’re […] Read more
The Farm Whisperer
Guide Books Review: Secrets to Preserving Families and Perpetuating Farms
The gender-neutral farm
What can you do to remove gendered barriers and build a stronger, more resilient industry?
Reading Time: 7 minutes There have been a lot of conversations about women’s roles in agriculture over the past few years. You’ve read many of them in these very pages. Here’s my conversation starter: if we had gender-neutral farms in Canada, what would that even look like in practice? Would it generate more and better opportunities for women? Would […] Read more
Drop the Ball
Achieving More by Doing Less
Reading Time: 3 minutes 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 […] Read more
Look beyond ag to re-imagine your farm
Bright Ideas: Where are you going to get your next great idea?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Innovation and reinvention are the cornerstones of any industry, helping them survive over the long haul. Their role is crucial in Canada’s agriculture sector. However, sometimes we rely too heavily on insider data knowledge. This approach can make us stale. It becomes repetitive, eventually costing us our originality and objectivity. So, where can our agriculture […] Read more
Making impossible conversations possible
Guide Books Review: How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide
Reading Time: 3 minutes How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical GuideBy Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (Da Capo Lifelong Books) If you have never had a difficult conversation, you are not human. Whether it’s with parents, siblings or kids, or even with those distant family members you only see once a year, it just happens. No one […] Read more
Think Like a Monk
Guide Books Review: Train your mind for peace and purpose every day
Reading Time: 3 minutes Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose EverydayBy Jay Shetty (Simon & Schuster) You might be surprised to learn how many lessons for farmers can be found in the wisdom of monks. After all, a monk’s life and a farmer’s life could hardly be more different. One is all about de-stressing; […] Read more
Do it. Read a book!
Guide Books Review: There are all sorts of reasons for not having time to read, but reading will improve your farm business, and your life too
Reading Time: 4 minutes For over two years, I’ve had the pleasure of reading and reviewing fascinating books for Country Guide. It’s been amazing, but it raises the question. Does it make sense for you to actually read a book, or would you and your farm be so much better off if you did real work instead? In other […] Read more
Making Numbers Count
Guide Books Review: The art and science of communicating numbers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Making Numbers CountBy Chip Heath and Karla Starr (Simon & Schuster) Okay, let’s have a show of hands. How many of us have ever said we’re just not “numbers” people? I have, many times. I do get their inherent value, but I have to admit sometimes I have struggled to see the totality of what […] Read more
Bright spots and blind spots
Bright Ideas: “Hugely successful businesses have been built on this principle,” says IBM founder Tom Watson. “It’s worth giving it some thought."
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers frequently take stock of tangible assets. They know how much money they have in the bank, how much machinery they’ve got ready to go, and how much of which crop inputs they have on hand. But what about intangible assets? Could we be keeping better track of our knowledge and skills, and should we […] Read more
Think Like a Rocket Scientist
Guide Books Review: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life
Reading Time: 3 minutes Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and LifeBy Ozan Varol(Public Affairs • $35) Among the fascinating books I’ve encountered while writing these reviews, Ozan Varol’s Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life stands out. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
