Mike Palmier standing beside a white truck

Research on the farm

After observing higher yield in some fields, an agronomist worked with a farmer client to set up a trial that yielded practical results

Reading Time: 8 minutes On-farm research is one of those things that sounds great in theory, especially with the technology at hand today. But how can agronomists and farmers reap results they can use, and count on? Saskatchewan crop consultant Mike Palmier offers one case study. Working with a farming client, he’s found that leaving taller crop stubble in […] Read more

Silhouette two road bike cyclist man cycling in the morning, and Cowboys riding across grassland with mountains behind, early morning, British Columbia, Canada.

The math checks out

A theory once applied to cycling can help your farm make big gains

Reading Time: 10 minutes What happens if you squeeze a few extra drops out of an orange while making juice? One small extra sip, of course. But what if you squeezed out a few extra drops from 1,000 oranges? You’d get a lot more orange juice at no extra cost. Could the same be true of food production? Why […] Read more


farm family standing in a sheep corral

Balancing the ups and downs of raising sheep

The ups and downs of raising sheep can be balanced by a supportive network and shared knowledge

Reading Time: 7 minutes Carla and Tyrone Borsa had already put a lot of research into their Rosthern, Sask., sheep operation even before the first set of cloven hooves hit the pasture in 2022. Almost three years later, that focus on quality sheep production has netted twenty-five mature Dorset ewes and two Canadian Arcott rams. And although the Borsas […] Read more

man and woman standing in a farm field with grain silos in the background

How these Canadian farms thrive

Like a roadmap, these farms are setting goals to make sure they end up at the right destination

Reading Time: 8 minutes Every January business partners DJ Wassenaar and Matt Bergman take a day to set goals for the coming year. It’s a practice that’s proven successful for their partnership and an integral part of their planning process. “We always need something to aim for, and whether the goal is attainable or not, giving ourselves a direction […] Read more


man holding an ice cream cone in an ice cream shop

Sask. creamery turns ice cream dream into reality

Sometimes your childhood dream can come true — and turn a delicious profit

Reading Time: 8 minutes It all started with a scoop of blueberry cheesecake ice cream from a creamery in Sicamous, B.C., more than ten years ago. About 13 years old, John Pruim was on a family road trip back to the province where he had spent his early years when the taste of farm fresh ice cream stirred something […] Read more

Evan Shout

Planning for 2025 and beyond

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farming is a complex business full of daily decisions with expensive consequences. Country Guide associate editor, April Stewart, sat down with Evan Shout, a.k.a. the Farmer Coach, for his thoughts and top tips on how farmers can prepare to make decisions not only for the coming year but for the next decade. Below is an […] Read more


farm equipment in a green field with the year 2025 shown

Setting goals in the new year that can work

New year, new goals. Or maybe not. What keeps us from sticking to and achieving our goals?

Reading Time: 5 minutes Ah, the optimism a new year brings. An invisible line drawn in your mind’s eye between the last year and next as you flip open a fresh calendar. (Or, if you’re younger than me, scroll to the next month on your phone’s calendar app). Your eyes sparkle with eagerness, you drum your fingers in anticipation, […] Read more

tom button

One page at a time

After 16 years and more than 4,000 stories, Tom Button, Country Guide’s editor, has turned a page in his career

Reading Time: 5 minutes For those who missed our December issue where Button thanked his readers for their almost two decades of support, you’ll have missed the announcement that Country Guide’s long-time editor is headed for retirement. What started as an opportunity to have fun producing a business publication for Canadian farmers soon transformed into the humble pursuit of […] Read more


Being able to work on their business rather than in it was a huge motivating factor for Donovan and Lisa Kitt when they hired their first permanent employee six years ago.

The case for hiring a full-time employee on your farm

It’s different today. Employees come with expectations. You have to work with them... but on this farm, it’s more than worth it

Reading Time: 12 minutes You may have had help on the farm before on a seasonal, casual or term basis. Most farms probably have. But farming today is different, and so are the reasons why you might be considering a full-time employee. So how do you know when it’s time to take the plunge? Will it pay off, or […] Read more

Is this the molecule to give farmers free phosphorus?

Get more shots on goal with AI

The Global Institute for Food Security in Saskatoon is planning to lead the world into a future where computers can re-design and improve natural compounds and where science will make bigger strides than ever before

Reading Time: 5 minutes Ben Scott builds proteins. You got that? He is not looking for proteins. He creates them, from scratch. Scott is an engineering biology expert at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. He is helping GIFS build an engineering biology foundry to design, build and test new enzyme […] Read more