Where do I go from here, Part 2

Iben and Shirley Warken-toohard got a bit of a shock last time we met with them they found out that if they both died tomorrow that the equity they planned to pass on to their children would be $500,000 less than they anticipated. It quickly became apparent that Iben’s plan to farm until he grew […] Read more



Recalling good and bad winters at 92

February 27, 2012. This has been an “open winter.” That saying refers back to the time of the early settlement of the West when the open range areas of western United States and also Western Canada were being settled by homesteaders and ranchers. If the winter had very little snow and mild weather, the winter […] Read more

Who ever thought “pink slime” was a good idea?

Scientists are making great progress in finding new ways to make protein in the lab. But Grainews field editor Lee Hart won’t be having it for lunch anytime soon

Here are two “meat” items I can’t wait to sink my teeth into — petri dish burger fortified with pink slime. Boy, if that combo doesn’t whet the old meat lover appetite I don’t know what will. Sometimes I think science and technology is out to sink the meat industry once and for all. On […] Read more


Life on the farm goes way too fast

Have you ever noticed how life speeds by on the farm? One day your children are terrifying you because they want to run under the cows’ bellies, the next they are half a foot taller than their dad and buying their first house. Our latest development has really been one of those moments. Our oldest […] Read more

Ranching is a dirty, tiring business

I don’t get much chance to vaccinate cattle or do much else around the farm any more, so when I do I make a point of letting people know just so they don’t assume I am only a pretty face, who happens to be an incredible writer, too. Yes, I am back at my desk […] Read more


Unwinding a farm corporation

Frank, now 62, and his wife, who we’ll call Elora, bought their southern Manitoba farm 32 years ago. By the time Frank’s brother Bob joined the operation 20 years ago, Frank and Elora had 1,280 ares of personally owned land. Frank and Bob incorporated the farm in 1981, bought 640 more acres of land and […] Read more

Pension reform and tax tips

As you’ve likely heard, Prime Minister Steven Harper has been musing about adjusting Canadian pension rules. Those doggone baby boomers are at it again. First they crowded the school system, then the housing system, then wouldn’t retire (keeping young folks out of jobs) and now by golly, when they do retire, they’ll endanger the Canadian […] Read more


Five ways to survive a land value correction

Debuble runs a mid-sized grain farm and is fortunate enough to have his son and daughter-in-law returning to the operation. The farm will need to generate more revenue, and Landon is thinking of expanding. In the last five years crop margins have been good and local land values reflect this reality. Landon purchased his last […] Read more

Professional agriculture

This article is a prelude to a series dealing with precision agriculture. It might be a bit boring and bureaucratic and you may wonder about the relevance but please take 10 seconds to scan before turning the page. A funny thing for an agro to do — but let us start off with the profession […] Read more