Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If we take a look at […] Read more
Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead
If nothing else, a rainy harvest season helped replenish topsoil moisture
Family through succession: The Hunters create a future
The Hunter family is presented with three options for their farm transition
Reading Time: 6 minutes We continue our journey through succession with the Hunter Family as we focus on the transition and the details of what this phase of the process looks like for the family. Many of you have reached out to tell us you and your families are gaining a greater understanding since reading this series, which was […] Read more
Crafting a new human resources plan for your farm
Don’t wait any longer. An HR management plan to protect the long-term success of your farm business could be worth working on now. Here’s why
Reading Time: 10 minutes Agriculture is changing. Innovation abounds. More new technology and better automation arrive every year. So it’s worse than ironic that our biggest shortfall is people power. But there it is. Without the right people, can our farms even hope to adopt the technological marvels that are supposed to propel them into the future? Mechanization is […] Read more
Guide Health: The itchiness of head lice
Cures are available, but even with the best products, you’ll need to be persistent
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your fingers probably just want to scratch your scalp when you hear the words “head lice,” but don’t scratch yet. On any given day, only about one per cent of the population are affected with pediculosis, as it is known in scientific circles, and they are mainly school children three to 11 years of age. […] Read more
Changes in agriculture are coming your way
These production challenges mean we’ll all have to stay sharp through the 2020s
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just because we can predict many of the production challenges heading our way doesn’t mean they’ll be easier to avoid, or that they’ll be easier to manage. In fact, by the time the new decade starts winding down in 2030, Canadian producers will have their hands just as full as they are today, if not […] Read more
Editor’s Note: Those predictions for mid-size farms
The question is no longer, can the mid-size farm survive? Instead, on the brink of the 2020s, it might be better to ask, does any other farm size have such a chance?
Reading Time: 2 minutes You’ll find remarkably few statistics in associate editor Lorraine Stevenson’s article on Canada’s mid-size farms in our January 2020 issue of Country Guide. Nor will you find that we’ve sought out every expert or every farmer with an opinion on the future of the mid-size farm. We wanted to keep the story as clear as […] Read more
Is your farm way of life under attack?
Personal online attacks against farmers are heating up, and a farm psychologist warns it’s only going to get worse
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not just weather woes, trade issues and government inaction that’s keeping farmers up at night these days. A sense of being scrutinized by the public is taking a toll too, especially when accompanied by the online jeering, baiting and vilification that are getting flamed at the farmers too. That won’t be news to anyone […] Read more
How healthy are mid-sized farms?
A decade ago, mid-size farms were on the endangered list. Today, most are thriving while they ponder what comes next
Reading Time: 11 minutes From coffee shop to conference hall and from boardroom to classroom, it’s the question we keep asking — what’s the future of the mid-size farm? Even the 98 per cent of Canadians who haven’t been on a farm in a generation or two talk about it from time to time. It seems there’s a solid […] Read more
Early 2020 forecast points to cooler, drier Prairie spring
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm – After 2019’s dry growing season and messy harvest, 2020 may have fairer skies in store for producers across the Canadian Prairies. Following the spring melt, weather in the Prairies is expected to show a bias to the drier side, which will keep excess soil moisture at bay following wet conditions last fall. “The […] Read more
Hanson Acres: A season for new traditions
Family is family, even when Christmas takes a few surprising turns
Reading Time: 4 minutes “Pass me that bowl of popcorn before you eat it all,” Elaine demanded. Her nine-year-old son Connor tried to answer, but it came out as a grunt, since he was busy jamming a fistful of popcorn into his mouth, spewing almost as many kernels onto the carpet as he ate. “Can the next movie be […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
