Under the letter “R” a great gift

Under the letter “R” a great gift

Getting back to the basics isn’t about being cheap ... well, not totally

Here we are starting December — the holiday season ahead — and it’s a difficult time of year for a few reasons. And no, I’m not just talking about whether Joe Biden actually makes it into the White House to become the 46th president of the United States. It’s only mid-November as I write this, […] Read more

Toban Dyck: Looking back on 2020

Toban Dyck: Looking back on 2020

We’ve been left to our own devices

With all this time at home, there seems to be no limit to the things I can get into. This year, 2020, the year so many people want to get past, has been one characterized by exploration and curiosity. And that is a good thing. Prodding forward when the path ahead is invisible or unclear […] Read more


Minks at a farm near Soroe in Denmark on Nov. 5, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)

Minks, staff positive for COVID-19 at B.C. mink farm

Coronavirus found in eight workers, five mink so far

A mink farm in southwestern British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is now under provincial veterinary quarantine and its staff self-isolating after several animals and workers tested positive for COVID-19. Fraser Valley Health, the regional health authority for the area, on Sunday declared an outbreak at the farm after eight workers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus […] Read more

Not only are the rules complex and professional fees potentially high, but the programs change often.

Farm Financial Planner: COVID-19 farm relief programs

Programs are blessings in bureaucratic disguise, valuable and complex

Federal relief programs for economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic including job losses, business interruption, nonpayment of wages, unemployment and illness are being addressed by a web of federal and provincial programs. Farmers can benefit from several plans, provided they can document losses and, in some cases, pay back some part of subsidies. What […] Read more


Farmers attend a protest during a nationwide strike against newly passed farm bills at the Singhu border near Delhi on Dec. 8, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis)

Farmers protest across India against Modi’s farm market reforms

New Delhi/Mumbai | Reuters — Farmers’ protests against new laws liberalizing agricultural markets spread across India on Tuesday, as farm organizations called for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In eastern and western states, farmers blocked roads and squatted on railway tracks, delaying hordes of people getting to work, […] Read more

(Getty Images)

Grain, seed corn growers get access to seasonal worker program

Maple syrup also added to national commodity list

Growers of grains, oilseeds and seed corn and maple syrup producers may be able to get in on the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) for the 2021 season. Federal Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Nov. 27 the national commodity list (NCL) would be expanded to include seed corn, oil seed, grains and maple syrup […] Read more



As a farmer who might be mourning the inability to go to Arizona this winter, what are your options for creating deeper rest at home or in Victoria?

Froese: Trading overwhelm for mental rest

When you can’t go south for the winter, what are your options for creating deeper rest?

Harvest on our farm finished October 7 which is a whole lot better than December 18 of 2019 for last year’s harvest. I can only imagine what you might be feeling as you read this, sitting down for a break wondering when the mental chatter in your brain is going to calm down. I’m a […] Read more


Agricultural workers gather on Dec. 2, 2020, whilst blocking the Panamericana Sur highway at Villacuri, Peru, during a protest over a long-standing but controversial agrarian law. (Photo: Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda)

Peru farm protests grip country, turn deadly

'There are no harvests, there is nothing'

Lima | Reuters — Protests by farm workers demanding better wages in Peru raged on for a fourth day Thursday, spreading north into key agricultural areas of the Andean nation, derailing harvests of some crops, snarling transport of produce and leaving at least one dead. Peruvian interim President Francisco Sagasti called the death of a […] Read more