Believe it or not, the farm transition can actually be a joyful journey. But that can only happen once three things are established: Is the business going to continue? When would you like it to continue? (starting now, or with a reading of the will) Who will lead the business in the next phase? That's... Read More
Category: Farm Management
On Friday, the Canadian dollar rose nearly a cent relative to the U.S. dollar. The sudden ‘strength’ came from a couple of sources. First, more confidence that the Bank of Canada will continue the path gradual rate hikes; second, a weaker U.S. Dollar. Recent Canadian economic data warrants the Bank’s outlook for gradual rate increases.... Read More
The Bank of Canada increased the target interest rate today by 0.25%, to 1.5%. This is now the fourth rate hike, amounting to 1%, since the Bank hiked rates for the first time since 2007 a year ago. Over the last year, the Bank of Canada has matched the aggressiveness of the U.S. Federal Reserve,... Read More
As someone who has already managed a mild heat stroke this summer, let me say this: it happens fast and can have dire consequences. Canada Day here in the Ottawa area pushed the thermometer to 47 degrees C with the humidex. Because we have livestock, some things still have to be done every day, and... Read More
Sometimes it just feels good to complain about things, even if there's not much to be done about the issue. A common complaint I hear from farmers is that they hate participating in product bundling from ag retailers. "Why not give me a lower price for a product instead of offering programming?" "I just want... Read More
It's really easy to ignore data or information that we don't want to hear. In this case, we cannot afford to ignore the impact that opioids are having in our rural communities across Canada. There is new data out today for the Government of Canada revealing that there was almost 4,000 opioid-related deaths in 2017.... Read More
When someone says "take care of your mental health," do you envision meditation sessions in quiet rooms or the latest yoga trend? While both meditation and yoga can be part of taking care of your headspace, they're not the only way to do so. The most important thing is that you work to add mental... Read More
One in seven Canadian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. It's the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian men. This Friday — leading up to Father's Day — will mark the fourth year where Prostate Cancer Canada has partnered with workplaces and individuals across the... Read More
If we can't manage what we can't measure, how do we approach the very real risk of losing public trust in how food gets grown? "Public trust is one of those things where we don't know the full value of it until we've lost it," says Crystal MacKay, president of the Canadian Centre for Food... Read More
Production efficiency is said to be one of the biggest limiting factors in dairy production. So to that end, for the past six months, animal nutrition and health company Alltech has been researching and developing a new production efficiency program called Smart Dairy. It combines nutrigenomics (the study of how nutrition affects gene expression) and... Read More