Reading Time: 5 minutes In the farming community, being independent is a point of pride. However, too much independence is actually bad for your health if it leads to social isolation. The research is clear. Multiple studies over the past three decades have shown that loneliness kills. It’s as bad for your health as smoking, being obese, having high […] Read more
Friendships for your life
For more and more of us, loneliness is a serious health risk
Editor’s Note: Listen to the science of 2017
If the Brexit vote didn’t prove it, the Trump election did. Voters are losing faith in their governments, which is one more reason to worry about the regulations imposed on ag
Reading Time: 2 minutes The science of listening is almost beyond belief. Based at their Purchase, New York headquarters, 60 specially trained communication experts manage what is called the MasterCard Conversation Suite, backed up by a team of researchers, marketing specialists and lawyers. With software from Domo and Percolate among others, the MasterCard team monitors a 40-foot LED screen […] Read more
Getting your message right
Blame email and social media. They're making it easier than ever to say exactly the wrong thing
Reading Time: 5 minutes For farmers today, the ability to write clearly is more important than ever. Whether it’s writing Facebook posts to attract customers, blog posts to educate the public, a business proposal for potential partners, or position statements on behalf of a board of directors, being able to express your ideas coherently is an invaluable tool. And […] Read more
Eight etiquette rules for the farm
Smooth manners are becoming at least as valuable on the farm as anywhere else
Reading Time: 5 minutes We all know the feeling, like when we’re at a meeting where we don’t know anyone and we’re feeling awkward about starting conversations. Or maybe we’re new on a board or a committee, and we aren’t sure how formal or informal it’s meant to be. Or when we’ve been invited to an event but we […] Read more
Six numbers in agriculture to make you stop and think
It isn’t as quiet as you might think on the home front. Yes, today’s farms seem stable, but the next evolutionary wave is gaining energy
In 2009, total Canadian net farm income was $2.8 billion. Four years later, it was $10 billion more, with Statistics Canada’s saying a $5.6-billion rise in the total value of farm-owned inventories from the year before accounted for almost all of the increase in total net income in 2013 That inventory increase came from a[...]
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Networking for business and life
If you cringe at the thought of networking, it’s a good sign you’re going about it the wrong way
Reading Time: 4 minutes While in the stands at his son’s hockey game, John got a recommendation for an accountant from one of the other parents. At a conference, Chris met a group of farmers who were also interested in experimenting with cover crops. At the end of a long day of combining, Tara shared her frustrations about work-life[...]
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Our toughest marketing challenge
Farmers are losing respect. Now is the time to win it back, before the costs get even worse
Reading Time: 4 minutes Rodney Dangerfield built a comic career on his signature line: “I don’t get no respect.” But for the agricultural industry, loss of respect is no laughing matter. The public perception of agriculture is steadily eroding. Last fall, Harris Interactive asked 2,537 Americans to name the most prestigious occupations. As you might guess, doctors topped the[...]
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Agriculture’s glass ceiling
If gender isn’t a big issue on the farm, why are so many women signing up for women’s organizations and conferences?
Reading Time: 5 minutes So maybe today’s farmers don’t absolutely need the muscles of a Schwarzenegger, especially on farms with employees. Still, that doesn’t mean the door is open to women farmers, or that our modern agricultural system is really as modern as we like to think. Women who want to farm do face challenges not experienced by their[...]
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Talking up the job. Creating common ground between the farmer and consumer
What’s wrong with letting consumers know just how professional you have to be to grow their food in Canada today?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Every farmer has one. For Manitoba’s Rolf Penner, his aha moment came a few years back, when he suddenly realized just how hard it is for a farmer to talk to non-farmers about his business. Penner and a farming friend were on a weekend getaway with their spouses. Neither wife had a farming background. As[...]
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Digital Marketing 101 and social media tips that help promote your farm
In this last column of our value-added series, we look at how social media can boost your value-add project
Reading Time: 5 minutes Anyone can tell you (in fact, they probably already have, more than once) that the Internet is too powerful a tool to ignore for marketing your value-added products. But exactly how can you harness its potential to reach your own goals? When creating an online presence, Nigel Gordijk, owner of Common Sense Design in New[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
