straight from the hip Report highlights need to manage capital, focus on marketing, and become better employers
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Conference Board of Canada is set to release a Canadian food strategy in March based on results of two previous food summits and some on-the-ground research. One of the supporting documents is, Seeds for Success: Enhancing Canada’s Farming Enterprises, which is a broad look at farming that makes recommendations that may surprise you. While […] Read moreReport says business management the key to success in farming
Rushing from one task to another takes its toll on family life
Reading Time: 3 minutes Lisa Genova’s inspirational book, Left Neglected, is the story of a young executive who suffers brain damage in a car accident caused by searching for her cellphone. As a result, she has no feeling on her left side and only slight feeling on her right. The book tells of her struggle to be connected to […] Read more
Love, power, and money — the family succession plan
Reading Time: 4 minutes While in Australia I was involved in several farm family succession planning meetings. As a guest speaker, I talked about the empowerment of individuals around the table. This is important so the truth is known and heard from all the individuals involved. The meeting leader followed with key points. Love, power, and/or money can sum […] Read more
Another perspective on GE and conventional crop coexistence
straight from the hip An Australian Nuffield Scholar believes it’s important for different practices to be able to continue in the same region
Reading Time: 3 minutes Jemma Sadler is an exceptional grain farmer. She operates in partnership with her brother, growing wheat and canola in the Wongan Hills of West Australia. She is bright, detailed, progressive and successful. Jemma is also at the heart of one of agriculture’s greatest debates — the coexistence of conventional, organic and genetically engineered (GE) crops. […] Read moreNation of islands needs more farmers
straight from the hip Farming isn’t easy in the south Pacific nation, but there’s a growing realization that a strong agricultural sector is critical for prosperity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Fiji is a land of more than 300 islands, 25 per cent of which remain uninhabited. All of that unknown conjures up visions of tribal villages ruled by a powerful chief — and so it is. The small villages remain under chieftain rule and they are busy dealing with the same problems I have seen […] Read moreThink long-term as you plan your cattle feeding program
straight from the hip It’s hard to recover once body condition is lost, and that can have lasting implications on your herd’s health and productivity
Reading Time: 3 minutes We could face yet another long winter and as we prepare our farms it is important to remember the basics for the cattle. Feed testing is an easy step, but to bring it alive, it is best looked at from a human point of view. Would you feed your child only pasta three times a […] Read moreGenerosity and humility — the ingredients of leadership
From the hip Leaders are driven with passion from a deep place of core beliefs and values
Reading Time: 4 minutes Some things just blow your hair back and at that moment you feel a bit validated. I was speaking recently at the Youth Ag Summit in Calgary and was pleased to meet the great leaders of tomorrow there — several were from Alberta. As I entered the conference a woman from South Africa, who had […] Read moreFarm visits open doors to people and positive attitudes
Open farm days are already a hit in places such as the U.K. and Quebec, and they’re gaining fans across the country
Reading Time: 3 minutes As I prepare to leave for more global research in agriculture, I am recalling the innovations I saw on farms to engage the public in the production of food. We tend to be a little private here in Canada about our farms and our work, but in many parts of the world that is not […] Read moreSome people just don’t understand that Mother Nature calls the shots
Britain’s bizarre efforts to eradicate TB while protecting the badgers that spread it shows the folly of trying to upend the natural order
Reading Time: 3 minutes I am looking at my oat storage bin and counting the square bales under cover. The inventory in the barn for the rescue horses is low. Out in the hay yard, the inventory is sparse and we will quickly face another winter of feeding cows. It would be an ordinary day, and not normally one […] Read moreThe issue of paid hunting in the province of Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes In Canada all wildlife is the property of the Crown. Why is it then that paid hunting is allowed in Saskatchewan and not in Alberta and what is the difference in the provincial acts? In this column we take a look at hunting for profit in both provinces. The current position of the Government of […] Read more
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