Reading Time: 5 minutes If there’s one thing certain about farming, it’s the uncertainty. Prices, weather and other variables are constantly changing and farmers in most sectors are tasked with doing business without being able to predict future outcomes. Research released by Farm Management Canada last year indicated three in every four Canadian farmers are working at mid-level or […] Read more
Farm planning for what lies ahead
How can a business plan be worth writing when farming is so unpredictable? For Mike and Amy Cronin, that’s the wrong question
Denmark to compensate mink farmers after nationwide cull
Reading Time: 2 minutes Copenhagen | Reuters — Denmark, the top exporter of mink furs, will compensate its mink farmers with up to 19 billion Danish crowns (C$3.95 billion) following an order last year to cull the country’s entire population. Denmark’s entire herd of some 17 million mink, one of the world’s biggest and highly valued for the quality […] Read more
How to cope in the long months ahead
Smart, healthful and fun tips for coping with winter and a global pandemic
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canadian winters on the farm can be tough at the best of times. The dark and the cold and the isolation can leave anyone feeling down. And this winter, of course, we also have the added stresses and restrictions of a global pandemic to make us feel battle-weary and burned out. The good news is […] Read more
Rebates: The ‘gift’ that has gone too far
Are retailers focused on selling the best product to meet a grower’s needs, or the product that will maximize their own business returns?
Reading Time: 5 minutes For years farmers have questioned and complained about the rebate and reward programs offered on agricultural inputs. Most complaints focus on the complexity of the programs and the inability for farmers to calculate the value of the rebate when making pesticide purchase decisions. Farmers need to know the after-rebate cost of pesticides if they are […] Read more
Provinces’ feet held to fire on AgriStability
Ministers' meeting co-chairs push for progress to allow changes to be made retroactive for 2020
Reading Time: 3 minutes The co-chairs of Canada’s agriculture ministers’ meeting are pushing to get proposed improvements to AgriStability in place sooner than later. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Ontario counterpart, Ernie Hardeman, “urge all provincial and territorial ministers to support the proposed changes to the AgriStability program,” they said in a joint statement Tuesday. At a […] Read more
When farm financial pressures mount
Sleepless nights? Behind on your bills? Avoiding the banker? You aren’t alone, and there can be a path back to better times
Reading Time: 7 minutes Maybe Benjamin Franklin said it best. “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” If you find yourself in financial trouble, it’s smart to ask for help. Art Lange is president of AJL Consulting in Edmonton, and in an article from our October 2020 edition, he and an Alberta farm couple worked together to share […] Read more
Guide Health: Guarding your eyesight against glaucoma
An estimated half of patients with eye drops don’t remember to use them, or don’t use them correctly
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’re young, glaucoma may not even make it on to the list of health conditions that you’re at all concerned about. As you age, however, your thinking will change, especially if you experience the eyesight loss associated with glaucoma! Worldwide, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness, and according to CNIB about 250,000 Canadians […] Read more
Trudeau names new transport, foreign affairs ministers
Garneau to handle foreign policy; Omar Alghabra takes transport
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named new ministers for foreign affairs and transport on Tuesday ahead of an election that insiders in his Liberal Party say is likely this year. Trudeau’s hand was forced when Innovations Minister Navdeep Bains, 43, unexpectedly announced he was resigning from politics for family reasons. Bains, who […] Read more
Resilient farmers vs. COVID-19: How one Ontario farm got so resilient
Rather than focussing on pandemic problems, the next generation brings solutions to the table
Reading Time: 4 minutes Our series on farm resiliency has been a fascinating one to write. We have spoken with several farm families about the challenges they faced and overcame during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it affected the ag community. We focused on the positives — stories of families and communities coming together to get last year’s crop […] Read more
How to Discuss What Matters Most
Guide Books Review: 'Difficult Conversations' by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen
Reading Time: 3 minutes Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen Penguin Books / 249 pages / $23.75 I cannot say too much about what a revelation this book was and how critical it is in both a personal and professional setting. If I had known in the past what I […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
