hanson acres

Hanson Acres: The votes are in, so tell us who won!

It’s election day, and on the Hanson farm, the tension is mounting and mounting

Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine Hanson’s laptop was propped up at the end of the kitchen table, and Elaine, her husband Jeff, and Jeff’s parents Dale and Donna sat clustered in their chairs at the other end, drinking coffee and watching the screen. Elaine bit her lip, one eye on the screen and the other on her phone, where […] Read more

Breaking the silence of racism

Breaking the silence of racism

When we give sexist and racist comments and stereotypes a free pass on our farms and in our daily lives, we’re guilty of perpetuating them

Reading Time: 6 minutes Too often we let racist, sexist or homophobic comments slide because it’s awkward or uncomfortable to call them out. But as human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Here’s how Bronwynne Wilton, a Fergus, Ont. […] Read more


“It was so simple,” Bob McCoubrey says. Instead of putting funds in investments, he’d set up a mortgage to help the Thurstons buy the farm. But it didn’t stay simple for long.

Getting to the dream

A real-life story of making a non-family farm transition work, including all the time, the effort, the talking and the satisfaction

Reading Time: 9 minutes About 15 years ago, Bob and Sharon McCoubrey were facing a dilemma. Bob’s body was telling him it was time to give up his orchard and vegetable farm in British Columbia’s Okanagan. It was time for the next phase of their lives, but past experience had left a bitter taste in their mouths. “We were […] Read more

Farmers are looking for a solution to glyphosate-resistant Canada fleabane, which is a growing concern.

Can less be more when tackling herbicide resistance?

A coming formulation of glufosinate seeks to cut rates yet maintain efficacy

Reading Time: 4 minutes In the past five years, growers across Canada have been hearing more and more about a new weed control mantra. It’s called “doing only what’s necessary.” Weeds continue to challenge and frustrate in the field, of course, and there are always new issues like resistance in species such as Canada fleabane in the East or […] Read more


The Farmer’s Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business

The Farmer’s Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business

Guide Books Review: In an agriculture where the new mantra is “work smarter, not harder,” Shanks offers an approach that, with discipline, can make success more achievable

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Farmer’s Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business By Julia Shanks New Society Publishers / 288 pages / $24.95 Launching, growing, pivoting and stabilizing your farm business all share one essential ingredient: a solid financial road map. Understanding what makes you money (and conversely, what does not) helps you […] Read more

Guide Health: Coping with dry skin

Guide Health: Coping with dry skin

Good skin care habits and a moisturizer will help, but keep these tips in mind

Reading Time: 3 minutes Dry skin, or xeroderma as it is medically known, is estimated to affect 70 per cent of Canadians in the winter months. Probably, the real number is even higher, especially when winters are as cold and dry as this winter has been in so much of Canada. Xeroderma is rough scaly skin that is flaky […] Read more


(Shironosov/iStock/Getty Images)

Ag ministers withdraw AgriStability reference margin limit

Program's compensation rate unchanged but 'remains on table'

Reading Time: 4 minutes In a move expected to provide $95 million in additional farm support per year, Canada’s ag ministers have agreed to remove the reference margin limit from the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. “That’s it! The ‘reference margin limit’ of the #AgriStability program is over! And it will be retroactive to 2020!” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude […] Read more

Acquiring more land has the potential to boost your farm business, but like anything in life, there are no guarantees.

Making a smarter deal for farmland

If farmers are so sharp at land buying, who do so many pay too much?

Reading Time: 9 minutes On most farms, it’s among the big decisions of an entire lifetime. Do you buy that farm down the road and take on all that risk? Or do you watch someone else farm it and mutter, every time you drive, “That could have been mine”? Either way, it’s harder than anyone outside of agriculture might […] Read more


Bringing in the hay at Wildwood Farm in the Peace region.

Transitioning the farm beyond the family

Maybe keeping the farm in the family isn’t an option for you. Or maybe you’ve seen the statistics and you believe Canada simply doesn’t have enough young farmers, so today’s farmers must open the door to more new entrants. Well, it’s never going to be easy, but check out these creative ways to have your cake and eat it too

Reading Time: 10 minutes Non-family farm transitions are certainly different than traditional family succession plans, and they definitely have their difficulties. But it turns out they aren’t impossible. In fact, non-family transitions are becoming much more common and much more successful. But they do require new strategies, and new ways of thinking. How common are they? “A significant number […] Read more

For mid-sized farms like his, collaborations are more essential than ever, says Brock. In Canada, he now believes, joint ventures have nowhere to go but up.

‘That will never work!’

Mark Brock was told it’s a waste of time for independent farmers to try to collaborate with other farmers. Then he did the research

Reading Time: 10 minutes Consolidation is the name of the game in Canadian business, and especially in Canadian agriculture. The pressure is on everywhere to grow bigger. If you’re a farmer, that means buying your neighbour’s land to grow your economy of scale, and it’s the same if you’re a processor, an input dealer, a chain of accountants or […] Read more