Woodchurch High School pupils Megan Pitt and Corey Gibson, 13, prepare their sheep for judging as they compete in the Young Handlers class at the Westmorland County Show near Kendal, Britain, September 14, 2023. Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters

Urban school farm opens world of opportunity to British teens

Students from the underprivileged community have won acclaim at ag fairs, and some have gone on to be farmers, vets

Reading Time: 2 minutes The rural life of rearing rare breed sheep and nurturing alpacas is a world away for many urban teenagers. Yet a British school near Liverpool has opened its pupils to a wealth of jobs in agriculture and the benefits of nature with its own farm.

Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

JBS opens cleaning unit after outside firm fined for hiring kids

Company says has cut ties to cleaning contractor

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — JBS USA, one of the biggest U.S. meatpackers, is creating an internal company to clean some of its processing plants after a private sanitation firm it employed was accused of hiring children for dangerous work. The launch shows the complexities involved in replacing Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), a firm that […] Read more


External view of the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 30, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Andrew Kelly)

U.S. to crack down on child labour amid massive uptick

Food processing plants among alleged offenders

Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Biden administration in the U.S. announced measures to crack down on child labour on Monday amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous industries. U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70 […] Read more

Farm kids often get plenty of experience on the production side of the business, but aren’t taught about budgeting or financial statements.

How to make your kids more financially literate

Don’t overlook how powerful it is to teach your children about managing money on the farm

Reading Time: 4 minutes Financial literacy is essential for everyone, but it is particularly critical for farmers. Defined as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being,” it’s a must in modern agriculture. Parents agree. They want their children to be financially independent. Yet Stephanie Szusz, who works in […] Read more


For Ontario’s Larmer family, on-farm child care is a safety, economic and educational issue. But, says DFRFR co-ordinator Katelyn, even successful programs, are under pressure.

Teeter totter

Farming parents need accessible, high-quality child care for their children. Can they get it?

Reading Time: 10 minutes When Donalee Jones and Scott Mowbray returned to their home town and began farming near Cartwright, Man., in 2008, the couple assumed that when things got busy, the family that they planned to have one day could easily be looked after by Scott’s parents, who lived on the yard of the Mowbray’s 2,000-acre grain farm. […] Read more

Siblings in back of truck

Raise resilient kids

How? Share your family stories with them. Research proves it’s a strategy that works

Reading Time: 4 minutes My parents came to Canada from the Netherlands after the Second World War. They came with very little money and only a few words of English, but they had a dream to own their own farm. Through hard work, diligence and a positive attitude, they were successful. But it wasn’t easy and when I have […] Read more


Mother helping her daughter with math homework

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

Mother Reading a Book to Her Two Children

Sing and read with your child

... it sets them up for a life of farming success

Reading Time: 4 minutes When you play pat-a-cake with your baby, you might think you’re just enjoying a fun game. However, child experts say rhymes, songs, and finger play actually help our children develop early literacy skills and build the foundations for a lifetime of learning. Language and literacy do more than open up the possibility of academic achievement, […] Read more