If you're five years away from stepping back from the day-to-day operation of your farm, you're likely to make different management decisions than say when you were five years in to your farming journey. But it's rare for a farm to have such a distinct start and end point — most farms are a blend... Read More
Category: Farm Management
A not-for-profit foundation focused on addressing mental health challenges in Canadian agriculture will officially be launched in Edmonton next week at FarmTech. The Do More Agriculture Foundation kicked off its online and social media presence this week. The initiative is the brainchild of its four founders: Kim Keller, Lesley Rae Kelly, Himanshu Singh and Kirk... Read More
A talk radio show I frequently listen to was recently discussing the hypothetical question: if you could pause your age at any point you chose, when would it be? Some said 18, some said 35, some said 55. It was a fun, interactive discussion. Everyone had their personal reasons based on external factors or their... Read More
The Government of Alberta is making some resolutions for the new year. As of January 1, 2018, farm and ranch owners will have some new Employment Standards rules to abide by. The changes are part of Bill 17: The Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act, and will apply to farms and ranches that "employ waged, non-family... Read More
I was in a conference call around access to mental health services last month, and a question came up that I'm sure a great many of us have considered: what can we do to break down stigma in our communities? Now, there are many ways we can go about breaking down stigma (worthy of a... Read More
Farmers from Saskatchewan and Quebec were named Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017 during the national OYF program in Penticton, BC this past weekend. Derek and Tannis Axten and Véronique Bouchard and Francois Handfield received the national recognition on Friday night. The Axtens operate a no-till grain farm with a unique emphasis on soil health... Read More
Substance dependency is often reported as — and thought of as — an urban issue. Statistics blur the issue, showing high numbers of dependency, and, sadly, death, in areas of greater population. But addiction is not isolated to people who live in cities. From alcohol to tobacco to what we'll focus on in this post,... Read More
Canada’s leading advocate for mental health awareness in agriculture, University of Guelph veterinary medicine professor Andria Jones-Bitton, is in high demand at farm meetings to speak about her ground-breaking research results. Through her studies over the past three years, she’s discovered an abnormally high rate of depression and other mental illnesses among farmers (and veterinarians).... Read More
This week the Ontario government passed Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act. Among other changes to workplace laws, it will mean an increase in the province's minimum wage, from $11.60 to $14 on January 1, and $15 on the same day in 2019. With other provinces potentially following suit, the potential impacts are... Read More
For some, technology like autonomous tractors and unmanned aerial vehicles offer great interest; for others, the quick advancements in robotics and data are overwhelming and intimidating. Will we soon see job losses? Will human presence on farms be made obsolete? Not at all, says Christine Su, co-founder and CEO of PastureMap, a company that makes... Read More