I am a big fan of Brene Brown’s work and encourage you to check out her insights. Recently I surveyed her newest book Dare To Lead (Random House 2018). When I read books I write notes at the back and then translate ideas gleaned for working with farm family communication. Brown is working to create […] Read more
Dare to lead and love your farm family
If you can understand the farm team’s thoughts and emotions you’ll have greater success figuring out issues and creating solutions
Four tongues on your farm
What you say can affect people more than anything else you do
When I ask a farm family what their main desire for coaching is, the typical reply is “Better communication.” Reading Proverbs daily gives me reminders that what we say probably affects more people than any other action we take. Proverbs describes four common speech patterns: 1. Controlled tongue. 2. Caring tongue. 3. Conniving tongue. 4. […] Read more
Surprise! I’m coming back to the farm
What do you do when an adult son or daughter who has been away for years decides to return and farm with you?
“Elaine, we are not sure what to do, our son who never had time for the farm has just informed us that he is planning to come back to farm with us. Problem is, his brother who has farmed with us for 11 years is not happy about this.” As a farm family coach I […] Read more
Stop bullying your parents!
As land values increase pressure may be put on to sell
There are some columns I wish I did not have to write. This is one of them. Through the past few years of land values jumping as much as 23 per cent in one year it is no surprise to farm families to see their balance sheets with larger numbers. It is shocking to those […] Read more
Dump your grain, not your pain
Stop dumping anger and start creating a healthy legacy
The email subject line read “UNBELIEVABLE” in all caps, and I knew it wasn’t going to be a happy farm transition story. Fourteen bullet points ensued with anger, poor decision-making, people not taking responsibility for their inaction. After ingesting a dump load of angst my reply simply was, “And what do you want me to […] Read more
Letting go of loneliness on the farm
If you are experiencing loneliness here’s some solutions to try
Her sniffles were clear on the phone line as she said, “He used to spend so much time with me on the weekends, but now that we are married he doesn’t even have time to go to church with me on Sunday morning. I am extremely lonely.” Another much older woman touched my arm to […] Read more
Manage your energy to get more done
Don’t waste emotional energy that will drain your effectiveness to farm
FCC’s Faith Matchett posted a tweet that caught my attention “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time” from Harvard Business Review (HBR) Oct. 2007 by Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy. Twelve years later the insights are still valuable. As a farm family coach I hear way too many stories of farmers scrapping daily, wasting tons of […] Read more
After 40 years what matters most?
When you figure that out and what you really want in your life, that will affect your intentional choices
The clouds at 30,000 feet are keeping me company as I write and reflect. My ears hear Celtic tunes of praise while I contemplate the lessons of the last four decades. November 10, 1978 marked the first day of my move to Boissevain to serve farm families with Manitoba Agriculture as an extension home economist. […] Read more
What if adult farm children don’t behave like adults?
Refuse to interact when you are being talked to in a disrespectful manner
As founders we all want our children to be happy and successful, but when kids have aged into adults we hope they are grateful for opportunity and don’t take advantage of our generosity. When kids have always received something, whether it is money, assets or help, they can come to expect it. A sense of […] Read more
Fired from the farm
How do you tell a son or daughter that they are not a good fit for the farm?
As a farm family coach I hear the struggles of farmers who are used to being able to quickly repair or fix problems that arise daily. When these hard-working, well-intentioned folks have a farming adult child who is not a good fit for the farm, great stress lingers far too long. If you try to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
