Given how demographics are shifting, it's only going to get more difficult to find new employees for the farm. Looking bigger picture to agriculture as a whole, there are far more career opportunities than there are those lining up to work. While there are longer-term issues that need attention, in the short-term farms have immediate... Read More
Category: Poll
Lobbying is one way to shape public policy. Lobbying is also a long-game — where building relationships, meeting, and continuing dialogue all play a role in whose issue of the day gets put on the front burner. A government has to decide its priorities across industries, based on its own goals and ideals, and also... Read More
As farms decrease tillage passes, swathers get parked, and planters become more precise, there are fewer forgiving field passes to train new drivers on. While many current equipment operators likely learned to manoeuvre large machines running the harrows or knocking down crop, these opportunities are fewer overall. What's more, the seeding and planting window is... Read More
Imposter syndrome is a feeling many are familiar with whether they define it as such or not. Imposter syndrome happens when we doubt our own knowledge or skills, and these doubts manifest a fear of being exposed as an imposter or fraud. When challenged, it is often not as simple as just admitting you don't... Read More
Not everyone is a numbers person, but most who run a business know the value of crunching income and expenses well ahead of the final tallies. Budgets can take many forms, from a scribbled down input/output scenario, to templates and spreadsheets, or a completely invisible version that lives only in someone's head. There are pros... Read More
There are fewer farmers every year in Canada. That's just reality. The impacts of a shrinking demographic are complex and far-reaching, but also sometimes right in front of us — like now, during the Annual General Meeting season of producer groups. The same farmer attending four different meetings, for example, doesn't necessarily make the most... Read More
Let's set aside for a moment the questionable taste of farm show and conference coffee or why the mugs are the size of thimbles, and instead let's celebrate the return to the Learning Season. While the tradeshow season begins in the fall, the learning conferences kick off the first week of January and don't relent... Read More
Prior to November of this year, plenty of Western Canadian farmers would have listed flea beetles as one of the major insect pests of canola. Then, just last week, distributors of the insecticide active lambda-cyhalothrin (sold as Matador and Silencer) announced they were pulling the product out of retail and likely not returning it for... Read More
Looking at our calendars for the next few weeks and into the first quarter of 2023 makes it feel like we are back to pre-pandemic levels of travel. While our travel schedules here at RealAgriculture may have gone back to the same as "before," how winter conferences are conducted has evolved. One of the examples... Read More
Traditions evolve over time — sometimes a significantly difficult time spurs an increased focus on gratitude, or a record-setting sale price or yield requires a big celebration. When harvest wraps up, whether it's the last acre through the combine or the last calf sold, it's important to step back, reflect, and indulge just a little... Read More