Reading Time: 6 minutes The words “leadership” and “management” are often used interchangeably, but there are important differences – and by focusing on leadership, you can ensure you’re putting your energy and resources in the right areas of your farm business.– April Stewart, CG Associate Editor “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” It’s a […] Read more
Summer Series: Do you have the tools to be a better farm leader?
[Leadership] Becoming a more effective leader will position you to adapt to the challenges and opportunities coming your way
Summer Series: How to set up a peer group
[Best Advice] Peer groups are driving the performance of more farms across the country. How do you get started
Reading Time: 5 minutes You can’t always rely on one-off farm tours to get the info you need to make those critical decisions for your farm. One increasingly popular solution: peer groups. Here’s how to get one started.– April Stewart, CG Associate Editor Every farmer gains deep perspective and a wealth of insight during their career. It’s knowledge that […] Read more
Making the farm less dangerous, step by step
Check out what these two farms did after they decided the old approach to safety on the farm is too weak, and sticking with it only makes it worse
Reading Time: 10 minutes For most of us, the sight of just one accident is all it takes to get us taking more reasonable precautions. So, imagine you are Krista Harris and you have seen what she has seen. As a career firefighter with over 20 years service with the Abbotsford Fire Department, Harris has attended innumerable motor vehicle […] Read more
The ‘how’ of success
Most farmers have great ideas but only a fraction turn them into businesses. Even fewer become profitable. John Cote wanted to know why
Reading Time: 9 minutes John Cote already knew a thing or two about adding value to farm-grown ingredients and about how to run a successful company in the value-added sector even before he set out to study how other business owners are doing it. In 2010, the fifth-generation Saskatchewan farmer and his spouse and business partner, Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote, gave […] Read more
Manage anger on the farm
Angry outbursts affect you, those you work with and ultimately your farm business
Reading Time: 5 minutes A Chinese proverb says, “if you can be patient in a moment of anger, you will escape 100 days of sorrow.” It’s wise advice, but we all know it can also be tough advice to follow if you’re prone to angry outbursts. Yes, you may feel remorse for it afterwards. But do you understand why […] Read more
A young farmer’s fresh start
These days, when everybody knows it’s impossible to become a farmer if you weren’t born on a farm, miracles do sometimes happen, as long as there’s some business smarts on the scene
Reading Time: 10 minutes Everyone who farms has a story about how they chose the life, whether they were born into it or started from scratch. And no matter who tells the tale, it always involves some luck, some good timing, lots of learning and pure determination. Maybe in this case, though, it depended more on the stars than […] Read more
Facing facts
It’s still very early days, but agriculture is on its way to becoming a more diverse and inclusive sector
Reading Time: 11 minutes Canadian agriculture has a problem and needs to talk about it. Partly, it’s a human resource issue. Every year, Canada’s farms and agricultural businesses fall further behind. More and more traditional farm jobs go unfilled while, at the same time, new job descriptions are being created that demand even harder-to-find skills and vision. And it […] Read more
The big question
He worked hard, kept his head down, made progress. But more and more, Ryan Boyd was wondering, “What if I’m missing out on my best chances?”
Reading Time: 8 minutes When Ryan Boyd set out on an international tour in 2019, he was looking for ways to both challenge and improve the way he farms near Forrest, Manitoba. Ryan and his wife Sarah, and his parents Joanne and Jim, own South Glanton Farms just north of Brandon, where they grow annual crops and raise a […] Read more
A better Canada
Guide Canada: Should this B.C. study become a template for other provinces, showing that farming paves the way for better days to come for the entire economy?
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s tempting to talk about Canada’s pandemic recovery, but is it premature? Cases of COVID-19 keep making headlines, and the “new normal” Canadians so desperately want still seems remote and uncertain. One thing is absolutely clear, though. Agriculture and the agri-food sector have gotten back to to near normal operations, and they did so with […] Read more
The people and the ideas behind food marketing
Canada’s food development centres are busier than ever with innovations and breakthroughs
Reading Time: 8 minutes For Canada, it’s been more than just a year of pandemic. It’s also been a year of new dreams and for forging ahead in new directions. In ag and food, new business ideas are bubbling up, and the drive is on for ways to lift them beyond the conceptual stage. Plus, our dinnertime routines and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
