Reading Time: 3 minutes Sarah was mad at Tom for spending money on a new gun. She has been trying to manage on a tight budget for years and the kids needed new school boots with a long, wet spring just around the corner. Tom argued the money came from the portion of the budget they could both dip […] Read more
A small conflict offers some larger lessons on finding solutions
The story of Sarah and Tom shows how easy it is for battle lines to be drawn and how they can be avoided
Farming is not a one-size-fits-all business
There is room for organic, conventional, and GM technology because each of them offers different benefits
Reading Time: 3 minutes I continue to witness arguments over different methods of farming. But considering the variety of farms around the world, and that most of them are very small compared to the Canadian average, combative conversation is really rather unwarranted and, in many cases, an uneducated dialogue. When one disparages farms that are organic or ones that […] Read more
Give yourself the gifts that make life so much better
These eight gifts can’t be bought, but are more precious than anything offered in any store
Reading Time: 3 minutes Encouragement is a much appreciated gift, and I have the pleasure of sharing this with young men and women around the world. From the farm in South Africa to the apple grove in Holland; from the backyard farm in the Philippines to the grain farm in Saskatchewan; and all places in between, there are passionate […] Read more
An act of kindness fills the human spirit and ripples outward
They often come out of nowhere and when they are most needed — and their power to uplift is deep and strong
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was the usual day. Get up early, study the markets, check on the cattle, fix fence, make a sandwich, and then go out and do it all again. Going to town or taking time to do things in the home were privileges, stretched out on the horizon and always seemingly days or months away. […] Read more
Food insecurity is not just a Third World problem
The situation in a country like Sudan is much more dire, but there are parallels to our own country
Reading Time: 3 minutes The United Nations has developed 17 sustainable development goals. The second one is “zero hunger.” This includes a mandate to end not only hunger but poverty everywhere and to achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. I would like to focus on food security in this column. Food security was defined at the […] Read more
Will boys always be boys? Not if we teach them proper boundaries
Around the world, boys are taught that aggression towards females is OK — it’s not, and must not be accepted
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was at the beach and there was a family on either side of me. On my left was a father and his four boys. On my right was a father and his four girls. The four girls played quietly doing make believe and building sand castles. Their father listened to music and watched for […] Read more
China represents opportunity for Canadian beef producers
Beef is increasingly on the menu for China’s growing middle class and the country can’t keep up with demand
Reading Time: 3 minutes The numbers are staggering — 854 million people in China are expected to be regular beef eaters by the year 2030. Despite their large land base, cattle numbers cannot keep up with the demand for beef that has been increasing by 15 per cent per year. What has happened? Where does the beef come from? […] Read more
Enterprising young farmers are the hope of a new Africa
The beleaguered continent has the potential to feed the world — if it can rise above the divisions created by its troubled past
Reading Time: 3 minutes The concept of a united Africa feeding the world is often considered. With a massive land base, Africa has an estimated 632 million hectares of arable land of which only 179 million hectares are currently being utilized. More than 40 per cent of these lands are in Nigeria, DR of Congo, and North and South […] Read more
A letter to a mother from a very grateful daughter
In ways great and small, we learn to live, laugh, and persevere through the example of those who inspire us
Reading Time: 3 minutes Dear Mom, I am so proud to say that my strength of character comes from you. It must have been so overwhelming to lose your own mother at an early age. I know you worked hard at university, only to leave your profession once you married a farmer. From the city you moved to rural […] Read more
Choosing to laugh along the way can, umm, lighten the load
Inspired by a return to school, columnist Brenda Schoepp decides there are a few other things she wants to change in her life
Reading Time: 3 minutes As I write this, it is week four of my master of arts in global leadership program at a university near Victoria, British Columbia. After 40 years of being out of school, I can honestly say that I have met my challenge. So tired by day’s end, I collapse on my foam bed. Not one […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
