Reading Time: 5 minutes When it comes to talking about mental health, there’s a shift taking place in agriculture. Producers are bravely sharing their stories at farm meetings and on social media. Corporations and organizations are creating supportive resources. All this is helping to reduce the stigma around mental health. With the incredibly high levels of stress farmers face […] Read more
Reaching out
Your neighbour is diagnosed with depression. What do you say next time you meet?
The annual performance review
Does it really make sense to put employees and team members through a performance appraisal?
Reading Time: 4 minutes You’re busy, of course, so finding an excuse for not doing annual performance evaluations with employees and team members looks so very tempting. Would it really be so bad if you pushed the reviews onto the back burner? The answer is an unequivocal “yes,” according to Dr. Sara Mann, an associate professor specializing in human […] Read more
Guide Health: The bother of warts
Most warts may be harmless, but it’s still important to know what to do and expect
Reading Time: 2 minutes Yes, warts are usually considered harmless, but they certainly can be a bother. Warts are caused by a group of viruses known as the human papillomaviruses. About 12 per cent of the population is affected at any one time, with children and young adults experiencing warts more often. The spread is via direct skin-to-skin contact, […] Read more
Time to talk: Building teamwork
In this pair of articles, we find all this talk about communication is more than a trend gone wild. It really does pay
Reading Time: 4 minutes When bad farm managers have bad farm teams, they blame bad employees. And sometimes it seems they have a point. I mean, who hasn’t had an employee who never gets down to work, who makes endless mistakes and who constantly gripes with other staff? But the trouble is, ineffective or inexperienced farm managers can’t see […] Read more
Promises to yourself
When the pressure is on, farmers get amazing things done. Now, a new technique called WOOP can help you score when the pressure is off as well
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers are good at getting things done under pressure. When the crop needs to get in the ground or the hay has to be baled before the rain, farmers follow through. But when there’s no deadline, farmers can fall prey to procrastination just like everybody else, says Carleton University professor Dr. Tim Pychyl, who also […] Read more
Guide Health: Exposed to Lyme disease
The number of diagnosed cases in Canada is climbing, and so is the geographic area at risk
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the hazards of outdoor activity is exposure to insects, and one of the insect-like species out there is the black-legged or deer tick (ixodid tick), which can carry Lyme disease. The name originates from Old Lyme, Connecticut, the place where the disease was first identified in the late 1980s. Recently, the incidence of […] Read more
Get professional with your HR
The Doelman family is finding their HR plan is an essential pillar for their farm’s success. You may too
Reading Time: 5 minutes With the current shortage of good labour in the ag industry, putting more effort into HR planning can help you keep your staff, thereby saving the cost and aggravation of recruiting and training new people — if you can find them. Hiring new staff is worse than dating, says Jennifer Doelman, who farms with her […] Read more
The ‘write’ way
With big stakes at play on today’s farms, it’s more important than ever to make sure what you write sends a clear message
Reading Time: 4 minutes We’ve all had occasions when we’ve read something and we were left muttering, “I have no idea what that person was trying to say.” Not only does poor writing not accomplish the goal of communicating the intended information, it also wastes the time of both reader and writer. The number one goal of good writing […] Read more
Keep employees on the farm
Do you really know if your employees are thinking of quitting?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Hiring and training the right people is costly, and the last thing you need as you head into the busy season is the added stress of losing a key person. The good news is there is a lot you can do as an employer to keep your staff. Even better, it’s not just about higher […] Read more
Guide Health: What you need to know about home testing
With any home test, check to make sure you know what it actually tests for, and that you are aware of its limitations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Home tests give you information about your health or medical condition while enabling you to maintain your privacy. Some home tests are commonly used. Think about the blood glucose or sugar tests you use if you have diabetes, or the pregnancy and fertility tests that help you with family planning. The idea is to help […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
