Reading Time: < 1 minute Kody Blois will take over the role of Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Mark Carney’s cabinet.
Blois in as agriculture minister
Lutnick suggests U.S. to eventually make new bilateral trade deals
Minnesota governor says the U.S. has become untrustworthy
Reading Time: 3 minutes As NATO secretary general Mark Rutte sat quietly beside U.S. president Donald Trump in an Oval Office press conference March 13, the president declared that Canada, a key NATO nation, should willingly submit to American dominance.
Canada initiates WTO dispute complaint on US steel, aluminum duties
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada has requested WTO dispute consultations with the U.S. over its imposition of import duties on certain steel and aluminium products from Canada, the trade body said on Thursday.
Moving your farm’s books to the cloud
Reading Time: 2 minutes As far as topics go, farm bookkeeping and office administration don’t get a lot of attention. Why would they when there’s drought and drones, multi-million-dollar farm acquisitions, trade wars, tariffs and labour disruptions to focus on instead? But it’s a subject that’s creating a bottleneck, preventing some farm operations from reaching their growth potential and […] Read more
Wellness ROI
In a tight labour market, could wellness programs help recruit and retain employees?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Investing in employee well-being pays off. Beverley Beuermann-King, a mental health and resiliency expert in Little Britain, Ont., says the research proves it. Return on investment (ROI) data for corporate wellness programs shows that investing in employee well-being results in improved employee engagement, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and fewer injuries. “If employees are healthy then […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Writing your life
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? — The Summer Day, Mary Oliver What are the ingredients of a successful multigenerational farm, or ag business? Or book or film or other creative project? They have more in common than you might think. It starts, I think, […] Read more
Mental health affects decision-making on the farm
Farming is one of the most stressful careers, and that can affect your ability to make decisions
Reading Time: 5 minutes So many integral parts of running a farm business can cause stress. Finances, family disagreements, weather, long hours, lack of sleep, volatile markets, industry regulations and paperwork, uncertain crop yield, machinery breakdowns, technology, and the well-being of livestock are the most common. High stress levels are common on farms, but that’s dangerous because they can […] Read more
Formalize the family farm with shareholder agreements
Reading Time: 3 minutes What if everyone in the farm business could lay out their expectations and at the same time determine what is expected of each to make the business work? And what if you could also design a road map for how each person exits the operation or buys out other parties? A shareholder’s agreement is an […] Read more
Navigating transitions in career, family and the farm
Moving through life’s phases can be difficult, but the journey — and the lessons — make it all worthwhile
Reading Time: 8 minutes “I thought my career was over.” Alanna Koch reminisces about her decision to quit her job as executive director of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association to stay home with her kids full-time in 2000. “I thought it was the end of the world,” she says. Her role with the association followed years of public […] Read more
In first, Cuba leases farmland to foreign firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cuba said on Wednesday it had leased farmland to a Vietnamese company to grow rice, a first since the 1959 revolution which kicked all foreign landowners out.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
