A pedestrian walkway through Xinglonghu Park in Chengdu in southwestern China in April 2022.

Schoepp: Forced farming

Autocratic regimes seem hell-bent on returning to the scary past by implementing planned agriculture

Reading Time: 3 minutes A troubling trend is creeping up on global farmers as governments control food production and eliminate crop diversity. In China, “non-grain” farming has become the target of the Rural Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade, or nongguan, which exercises agricultural administrative penalties and related inspections for the Agriculture and Rural Development ministries. The areas that farmers […] Read more

pile of manure

Schoepp: Misconceptions about manure fly in face of common sense

It is a valuable commodity and using it as an energy source offers a host of benefits

Reading Time: 3 minutes Last month, the Guardian had an article on biogas titled ‘Brown gold: The great American manure rush begins.’ It seems I am not the only one to believe our regenerative future rests in water and manure. The story was about California dairy farmers entering into long-term contracts to sell their manure to the energy industry […] Read more


The element of surprise is hard to account for when it comes to performing farm tasks safely, as columnist Brenda Schoepp discovered while being in the saddle one day on her horse.

Schoepp: We are always only a moment away from life-altering change

On farms across the country, pain and grief are all too familiar, but so are stories of perseverance and miracles

On farms across the country, pain and grief are all too familiar, but so are stories of perseverance and miracles

Reading Time: 3 minutes It is calving time on many farms. It’s normally a joyful time of the year as we receive new lives into the fold and look with hope to a season of warmer weather and green grasses. But for some families, it is also a brutal reminder of challenge, broken bodies and long recoveries. These past […] Read more

Schoepp: We need to get past the perception that ag is ‘just farming’

Schoepp: We need to get past the perception that ag is ‘just farming’

The sector has to attract bright young people but first we need to get rid of old stereotypes

Reading Time: 3 minutes Just what is agriculture to youth who are looking at career choices? That was one of the questions asked by Nuffield Scholar Claire Peltzer, whose 2020 report focused on attracting youth into agriculture. The short answer is that agriculture is considered “farming” and does not include the existing plethora of career opportunities. The fields of […] Read more


Schoepp: It was both an ordinary day and an extraordinary one, too

Schoepp: It was both an ordinary day and an extraordinary one, too

Sometimes when the load seems too heavy, little moments can lift you up

Reading Time: 3 minutes What started as a downer of a day turned into one of fulfilment and meaning. The person cutting my hair always surprises me with the depth of her compassion and her understanding of the world. Everything about her is beautiful and regardless of where I am that day, I feel uplifted when I go to […] Read more



chess

Schoepp: When we put values ahead of winning, good things happen

Of course we play to win but those who dare to be different often reap exceptional rewards

Reading Time: 3 minutes I have found a cousin — or rather he found me. Years ago, I had placed a little post on Facebook with a short message in which I said I was looking for information on my maternal grandmother. I knew her name and when she passed, but that was nearly all. And I wanted to […] Read more

beqaa valley marijuana

Schoepp: Fresh water a gift we can’t afford to take for granted

What falls from the sky gets most of our attention but the entire water supply should be our concern

Reading Time: 3 minutes Drop by precious drop we are celebrating rain in the dry areas — and cursing it on the flood plains. The weather patterns have been rather unpredictable with monumental hail in Mexico City to extreme heat in Europe and Saharan winds that are dropping sand in the most remote of locations. Putting seed in the […] Read more



piggybank financial literacy

Schoepp: More farms need to plant the seeds of financial literacy

Many operations, both new and old, pay a big price for not knowing the language of finance

Reading Time: 3 minutes British Columbia is a unique place in the world. The variety of food grown is astounding as is the diversity among its processed products. The landscape is home to tiny farms and large ranches, local processors and those who export worldwide. This is a province of mountains, islands, rivers, ocean, lakes, ports and flyways, valleys […] Read more