Tom Button

Editor’s Note: If Harvey Weinstein was a farmer

It’s amazing how much we can be blind to, especially when we like to think that nothing ever gets past us

Reading Time: 2 minutes Really, the question isn’t whether there might be a Harvey Weinstein in Canadian agriculture, but how many of them there are likely to be. I’m not one to doubt the fundamental decency of farm society. In fact, I believe in it implicitly. Yes, farm society has had to evolve like other sectors have had to […] Read more

There is no exemption for a family-run business like a farm,” says lawyer Cherolyn Knapp. In other words, if you’re an employer, you need anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.

What the law says about harassment

What is your responsibility for preventing abuse or harassment on your farm?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Whether you’re a manager at a large corporation or you own a farm business that hires a small cohort of staff, you’re obligated under the law to provide a harassment-free workplace, says Cherolyn Knapp, a partner at Guelph-based law firm, Nelson, Watson LLP. Specific statutes vary from province to province, and links to relevant pieces […] Read more


The organizations that figure it out are the ones that win,” Jen Christi (centre) says about agriculture’s track record on equity from her national platform in Chatelaine’s “Broads in a Bro’s World.”

What farm women say…

With all the #MeToo headlines about predators and creeps in entertainment and government, and with so many revelations about fair pay and fair treatment, we wanted to ask, how is agriculture doing? Here’s how it looks from the front lines

Reading Time: 7 minutes As remarks go, it was decidedly crude, so even though it was some years ago now that she first heard it, the memory still rankles Beth, especially because she’s so much more aware now how it fit into a pattern. The day had been a workday like any other in any professional agricultural office. There […] Read more

angry girl holds up her hand to stop predator and end the cycle of abuse

Sexual harassment: Is your farm at risk?

The short answer is “yes,” but here’s how you can reduce your risks with a harassment policy that helps prevent unacceptable behaviours and their consequences

Reading Time: 5 minutes On the outside, everything seems wholesome and almost shiny. We run our family farms with respect and good will, focused on productivity and efficiency. In fact, as an industry, we’re so good at it, more farms are hiring non-family employees, and there’s increased gender and cultural diversity throughout the agricultural industry. That has got to […] Read more