Anxiety often does accompany or can be a symptom of physical pain.

Control anxiety with your body

Fit to Farm: How full body, dynamic movements and breathing exercises can help

It is a common belief that anxiety is a mental health condition. While anxiety certainly does have plenty of mental health implications, current research shows how the symptoms of anxiety can be managed through body focused tools. If not managed effectively, anxiety symptoms such as a racing heart, nausea, shortness of breath, nervousness, difficulty sleeping […] Read more

The farmer’s fun factor is a choice. Talk about your play options. Then get out and do them!

Froese: Not having enough fun in your life?

Here are some tips to help farm men dial up the fun factor

Some farm men are experiencing a serious lack of fun, and this can start to influence the business, family harmony and all aspects of life. Finding your own fun and setting time aside for it is a choice. You can do it. I distinctly remember where we were on a gravel road when my farming […] Read more


The flavourful leaves of Top Bunch collards can be used for making cabbage rolls.

Try collards in your cabbage rolls

Singing Gardener: Here are some tips on how to grow them

Here at my home turf in southern Manitoba, there are community gardens. The property owner rents out a piece of land during the summer to gardeners who are eager to do their own thing, and there’s always a waiting list to get a spot. The emphasis on planting as much of our own food as possible […] Read more

Many farm owners may avoid making wills because they want to avoid family conflict. Having a third party facilitate this discussion can help you get harmony through understanding.

Froese: Do you have a will?

If you’re a younger farmer, there’s a good chance you don’t. Here are some tips to help you get started

An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada report, “Succession Planning on Canadian Farms,” refers to a 2019 Farm Financial Survey by Statistics Canada that showed most of the surveyed farm owners (81 per cent) had a will in place. However, the percentage was much smaller (58 per cent) for farmer owners under 40 years of age. Why […] Read more


Whole star anise, cinnamon sticks and cloves are common ingredients in spice blends.

Spice it up

First We Eat: Curries come in a rich assortment of flavours and rely on many spices

I’ve been lucky in love. Along the way, I worked hard to learn from good relationships that ended as well as from more difficult ones. Last month, my husband, Dave, and I celebrated 15 years together. They have been happy and loving years, filled with joy and the wonder of living life together as an […] Read more

Bishop’s Flower is an easy-to-grow annual that likes full sun to light shade exposure, blooms from mid- to late summer and beckons pollinators by the hundreds.

Bishop’s Flower a boon to beneficial insects

Singing Gardener: Plus a recipe for pickled carrots

Some proverbs! “It is a wise father that knows his own child.” I don’t often hear that one anymore, but it was a common expression when I was a kid. Conversely there’s a proverb that says, “It’s a wise child that knows its own father.” There’s this one for a young man seeking a mate: “He […] Read more


Be a better listener

Be a better listener

Feelings of not being heard can fuel frustration in farm families. Here are some tips that can help

In January, I had the delight of watching a group of 20 farm employees and managers racing against the clock to change race car tires in Bob Parker’s Pit Crew Challenge. Parker is a longtime friend and motivational speaker. His Pit Crew Challenge, which features real NASCAR-type race cars and former race car drivers, challenges […] Read more

Take a breath

Take a breath

How 'coherent breathing' can help people with chronic digestive complaints

It may sound wild, but how we breathe can have a big effect on chronic digestive complaints. Our digestive system is largely controlled by a portion of our nervous system known as the enteric nervous system and a cranial nerve called the vagus nerve. These parts of our neurology are what receive and give information […] Read more


Here are just a few of the fats you can use for cooking. Pictured are (left to right) coconut oil, butter, olive oil in a carafe, pork fat, a jar of toasted sesame oil and schmaltz.


Don’t fear fat in your food

First We Eat: Fats are a prime nutrient source and serve more than one role in the kitchen

“What do you think of when you hear the word schmaltz?” I ask my husband Dave. He hesitates for half a heartbeat. “Soppy, sentimental writing or music,” he says. Dave’s a retired journalist, a card-carrying lover of edgy jazz and R&B, fan of hardbitten detective and police procedural TV shows and writer of lean short […] Read more

A day’s harvest from Sue Kraft’s garden in 2021. It’s a labour of love when it’s veggie-picking time for carrots, corn, cukes, lettuce, peas and tomatoes.

Pick of the crop

Singing Gardener: When it comes to carrots, Scarlet Nantes is hard to beat

Hello young people, hello senior citizens and welcome to everyone in-between who is trying hard to make ends meet and keep afloat on the river of economic problems — in particular, the high cost of food. We’re glad to be gardeners and keepers of the soil. Cost-wise, it’s hard to eat healthy if you’re eating […] Read more