Reading Time: 2 minutes A year and a half ago, we promised to write much more about farmers who are using team strategies to achieve objectives out of reach on their own. Boy, did I get my eyes opened. Here’s a paragraph I wrote in that first column: “The thing is, at our core, Country Guide believes that farmers […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Decision-making on a whole new level
The Farmers Business Network revolution
FBN says it is going to revolutionize agriculture, making farmers way more competitive. The service is off to a good start
Reading Time: 6 minutes As farmers, we may be on the verge of a transformational change in the way farmers conduct business and manage their operations all because of the Silicon Valley start-up: “Farmers Business Network.” History is littered with farmer and peasant uprisings. Because of the disorganization of these farmer rebellions and quick suppression by governing elites, most […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Here’s a hint. Get better at what you’re good at
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a favourite quote from Tom Rath, among my favourite business writers. “You cannot be anything you want to be — but you can be a whole lot more of who you already are.” I still think of Rath for his Strengths Finder 2.0, which became Amazon’s global best-seller in 2014 — not bad for […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Is this the last new generation?
Reading Time: 2 minutes In an industry buffeted by such constant change, it’s easy to predict a wave of evolution is heading our way that’s so strong, only the most powerful farms will survive. Except… It’s a question I have asked before. Will the kids coming home from college and university this spring be part of the last generation […] Read more
Opinion: Find the right mentor
Yes, approaching a mentor takes time and a bit of courage. But the payoffs can be huge
Reading Time: 4 minutes At very least, establishing a relationship with a mentor is an adventure and an opportunity for growth and enlightenment. It can represent a great step forward for your farm. But, as always, it’s best to know how to get what you want. Finding a mentor can come through predictable channels such as having a mentor […] Read more
Editor’s Note: A long, confident, look ahead
Reading Time: 2 minutes On the theory that winter is always the right time for such things, why not spend half an hour this week making a list of the machinery your family had on the farm 25 years ago compared to the inventory you’ve got today. You could even make your list over supper some night when your […] Read more
Editor’s Note: The way I read Country Guide
Today’s farmers are making history. Arguably, agriculture is evolving faster now than ever before, and all of us are aware of what a privilege it is to be along for the ride
Reading Time: 2 minutes With roots the go back before 1900, Country Guide is among the oldest magazines in Canada, and partly because of this, and even more because talking to farmers is what the Guide has always been about, it may not surprise you as much as it surprised me when I got here that we get contacted […] Read more
What women in agriculture need and want
Guide Opinion: Communication remains a key in order for farm families to grow
Reading Time: 5 minutes What do women in agriculture need? What do they want? I asked Canadian women who are farmers or in agriculture. The open forum for response on social media was complemented with phone calls and emails in which women thoughtfully responded with their wants and needs. 1. Women need healthier tax attitudes Women need farm families […] Read more
Borrowing our way to prosperity
Is it healthy for Canada’s farmers to have more debt than 130 of the world’s national governments?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers and the ag industry love to set records. They drool over variety yields, bushels per acre, acres per hour, rates of gain, and any other metric that might portray them as more productive, efficient or simply better than their competitors. Yet barely a word was mentioned last spring when Statistics Canada revealed Canadian farm […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Our greatest risk
The defining events of 2018 may have been the things that didn’t happen, like ripping up NAFTA or pulling the plug on ethanol supports. That’s not how it’s going to be in 2019
Reading Time: 2 minutes Our January 2019 issue of Country Guide, like our issues all through 2018, is full of good news. Has there ever been a time when farmers have felt so capable of withstanding weather and marketplace shocks that would have had them spinning in other decades? And has there ever been a time when farmers have […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
