Reading Time: 6 minutes Do you feel stressed by the clutter on your desk, the dining room table and the kitchen counter? Are you tired of tripping over things that “might come in handy” someday? Do you have a basement full of stuff that’s too valuable to throw away, but you can’t decide what to do with it? If […] Read more
Clutter Busting 101
These tips really will help you take charge of the stuff in your office, and in your life
Get your soybeans planted early
If done right, planting soybeans early can boost yields
Reading Time: 5 minutes When farmers first began growing soybeans north of the border, the general recommendation was to wait until the May long weekend to plant. The advice was always to plant soybeans in your best field on the best day, and even then to cross your fingers. Since then research has consistently shown a yield benefit for […] Read more
Where might Canada’s food trends be headed?
Food guru Dana McCauley is forecasting great new opportunities for farmers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever thought there might be an opportunity in knowing what foods will be hot in the next few years? Ever wonder if you should really care? For our Country Guide readers, I asked Toronto’s Dana McCauley — chef, recipe developer, food trend watcher, and executive director of Food Starter, a non-profit food incubator […] Read more
From cornstalks to sugar
Farmers ready to participate in bioeconomy
Reading Time: 5 minutes With consumers pushing for a greener, more sustainable chemical industry, agriculture is poised to play a key role in the new bioeconomy, especially with renewable resources that can be converted into bioenergy and biobased chemicals. This time, farmers aren’t waiting around to find out how they can get involved. A group of farmers in southwestern […] Read more
Build your kids’ math skills
To excel at farming, your children will need better math skills than they may be getting at school. Here’s how to help
Reading Time: 4 minutes Despite the billions of dollars spent on education each year, student math test scores continue to fall in most of Canada. The alarming statistics don’t bode well for the success of future generations. Like reading, math is a fundamental skill, necessary for success in life and work. John Mighton who established JUMP Math, a tutoring […] Read more
No-fear public speaking
With winter meetings ahead, more of us will get asked to take the microphone. These simple strategies will make you glad they did
Reading Time: 4 minutes Even though all of us in this day and age should expect to be called upon to speak in public at some point, for many of us the very thought of it causes us to feel queasy and to break out in a cold sweat. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a U.S. […] Read more
Getting your message right
Blame email and social media. They're making it easier than ever to say exactly the wrong thing
Reading Time: 5 minutes For farmers today, the ability to write clearly is more important than ever. Whether it’s writing Facebook posts to attract customers, blog posts to educate the public, a business proposal for potential partners, or position statements on behalf of a board of directors, being able to express your ideas coherently is an invaluable tool. And […] Read more
Preventing domestic violence
Reading Time: 4 minutes Let’s pause for a moment to let this grim statistic sink in. Every six days a woman in Canada is murdered by her partner. Domestic violence is far too prevalent. Just in the last five years, more than one million people in Canada have reported being either physically or sexually assaulted by their partner or […] Read more
Not your same old board
Today’s farming is increasingly sophisticated. Now its boards are too, which is good news all around
Reading Time: 5 minutes Agricultural boards are under pressure. They can no longer do business the way they always used to, says Rob Black, chief executive officer at the Rural Ontario Institute, a charitable organization in Guelph, Ont. that helps build leadership skills. This time, though, the pressure is coming from their farmers, and especially from the farmers they […] Read more
A goat dairy looks to maximum potential
Once they reached the farm size they wanted, Ian and Vicki Mayberry have found ensuring it is sustainable takes skill, and self-awareness
Reading Time: 7 minutes For many farmers, there’s a belief that you have to “Go big or go home.” Yet Ian and Vicki Mayberry take a different approach on their farm near Ingersoll, Ont. They like the size they’re at with 170 milking goats plus offspring, so instead of expanding they are looking to maximize production with their current […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
