Reading Time: 5 minutes After nearly a month in Germany helping her daughter take care of a new baby, Donna Hanson was happy to see her husband at the bottom of the airport staircase when she arrived at the Regina airport. It was good to be home. Until Dale shouted up, “Welcome home, Grandma!” Donna was mortified. She looked […] Read more
Hanson Acres: Coming home isn’t always just as you imagined it
Fresh off the plane from Germany, Donna takes another trip when she sees the house
Family meetings that work
How do you score big with what is emerging as one of the most powerful farm trends of the 2000s?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Determining the future of any business involves planning, especially if it’s a farm business. There are no shortcuts. And it can’t be done without facing the prospect of potentially uncomfortable meetings. Conversations about the strategic direction of the farm are critical. For family businesses, this can be tricky. No one wants to have actual discussions […] Read more
New rule on farm transfer tax treatment put off to 2022
Farm groups protest delay
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rule changes passed in a federal bill to standardize tax treatment for sales of family-owned farms and small businesses will be delayed to the start of 2022, to the dismay of several farm groups. Bill C-208, a private member’s bill spearheaded by western Manitoba Conservative MP Larry Maguire with amendments to the federal Income Tax […] Read more
The grieving child
Even in the strongest farm families, we often try to shelter our children rather than help them address the loss of a parent, grandparent or family friend
Reading Time: 5 minutes When a child is facing the death of a loved one, our first instinct is often to try to shelter them. Unfortunately, following that instinct may do more harm than good. One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting too long to tell a child a loved one is dying, says Andrea Warnick, a […] Read more
Talk to family, friends about farming
Reading Time: 3 minutes This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at […] Read more
Guide HR: Sibling rivalry
… and how to prevent it destroying your family business!
Reading Time: 4 minutes A family business can have many positive advantages, including strong cohesion among members and a shared commitment to success. However, family businesses can also sometimes be highly conflictual and chaotic. It seems your strength can become your weakness. Managing a business with family members creates several issues that can have a huge impact on the […] Read more
Ten things farm moms really want
It would be fun for you to be a fly on the wall of my office when the calls from farm moms come in. They range in age from 33 to 93. Regardless of your age or stage as a farm mom, I bet there are things that you would like to be able to[...]
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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[...]
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Eat together: Have a healthier family
20 years of research proves that sitting down to eat together is good for body, brain and mental health
Reading Time: 6 minutes Here is one thing you can do that will help your kids succeed in school and life, and it’s as simple as making it a habit to eat together as a family. It sounds too good to be true, but true is exactly what it is. That’s according to Dr. Anne Fishel, a family therapist[...]
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Hanson Acres: Their visitor from the east
The moment the plane lands, the questions get started
Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale was on edge as soon as he saw the number displayed on the phone. He considered just letting it ring, but his wife Donna was watching so he took the call. He shuddered as he hung up. “She’s coming,” Dale said. Ever since she’d heard about their father’s stroke, Dale’s sister Margaret had been[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
