Reading Time: 4 minutes In part four of our Making the Future series Country Guide spoke with Eugénie Officer from Hemmingford, Que. (Read part one here, part two here and part three here.) Officer grew up on a small apple farm in southwestern Quebec. After studying history and agriculture at the University of Guelph, she joined Farm Credit Canada […] Read more
Making space for a new generation of ideas in Canadian agriculture
Summer Series 'Making the Future': Exploring the perspectives and experiences of young up-and-comers in various sectors of Canada’s agriculture industry
Encouraging people from outside agriculture to come on in
Summer Series 'Making the future': Exploring the perspectives and experiences of young up-and-comers in various sectors of Canada’s agriculture industry
Reading Time: 4 minutes In part three of our Making the Future series, Country Guide spoke with Emily McGovern from South Surrey, B.C. (Read part one, here.) McGovern, 24, works on developing special content for marketing projects for Glacier FarmMedia, the parent company of Country Guide. She has a BA in linguistics and publishing from Simon Fraser University and […] Read more
Outstanding Manitoba farm couple harnesses innovation and data
Summer Series 'Next Gen': Self-proclaimed data junkies and winners of the 2024 Manitoba Outstanding Young Farmers award, Paige and Marcus Dueck, talk about the changes they’ve made on their farm, how they’ve harnessed technology to work for them and what leadership means
Reading Time: 4 minutes For over a decade Paige and Marcus Dueck have embraced their passion for farming while striving to innovate and expand their Kleefeld, Man., dairy operation. Today, they are proud to say they’ve doubled their milk production during their short tenure and have optimized robotic technology to create a successful and balanced lifestyle for their young […] Read more
Closing the on-farm generation gap
Generations have always squabbled about issues and viewpoints, but the generational communication gap can be filled with curiosity and empathy
Reading Time: 4 minutes The clash between generations over outlooks, opinions, values and beliefs dates to ancient times. In fact, this disparity of perspective has a name: the generation gap. Each generation is shaped by the predominant forces at play during their formative years. Acknowledging these influences can improve communication among the generations, says River Falls, Wisconsin leadership development […] Read more
Gen Z farmers are leading the way
The next generation of farmers are here and they’re mixing old with new to get results
Reading Time: 3 minutes Millennials and gen Z have taken a good deal of shots from previous generations, and maybe even an unfair share of them. But for those who would farm in adulthood, it turns out that Millennials and gen Z, stereotypically maligned for not working hard enough, aren’t so different from past generations that endured and stood […] Read more
National Farmers Union opens applications to training, support program for underrepresented farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Women, racialized, Indigenous and young farmers and farm workers, as well as those from other underrepresented groups, are invited to apply to THE EXCHANGE, a new training and support program led by the National Farmers Union (NFU).
Summer Series: Business on the ground
[Land] With these land prices, can young farmers hope to ever write a sensible business plan? Maybe, but it’ll take innovative thinking
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s a daunting mix for young farmers. Land prices are soaring, production costs are climbing, interest rates are uncertain. And that’s not to mention the mix of international politics, market volatility and weather woes that are breeding black swans at historic rates. With 2024 almost here, it’s hard to be any age. But how would […] Read more
Summer Series: Lessons for young farmers on farm transitions
[Best Advice] As they get going on their farm transition journey, there's something all young farmers have to learn
Reading Time: 7 minutes Where can young farmers turn for help to figure out which pieces of the leadership puzzle to learn and when? And on top of all the facts and processes you must master as you step into an on-farm leadership role, how can you accumulate enough of the right insights and skills required? These three young […] Read more
Summer Series: Advice for Young Farmers
[Best Advice] If there was one piece of advice you wish somebody had given you (and that you had listened to) when you were just starting out on the farm, what would that be?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Once they’ve been in the biz for a few years, some farmers wish they hadn’t followed certain advice. Others wish they had. And others are happy with what they’ve accomplished based on advice they’d still follow if they had to do it all again. Here, a few farmers share what they’ve learned and offer their […] Read more
Does Canada have enough young farmers?
It probably depends on what you mean by “enough”
Reading Time: 5 minutes Jennifer VanDeVelde never planned to farm. She graduated university with a biology degree, attended teachers college and went straight into the classroom. Five years later, in 2006, VanDeVelde left that classroom and joined her husband, David, a fourth-generation tobacco farmer, on the family farm in Delhi, Ont. The VanDeVeldes, both 40, transitioned out of tobacco […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
