The eruption of trade wars and tariffs has me looking harder than ever at what we eat and where it comes from, like every other Canadian.
Farm Life
Cooking Canadian, part 2: Shopping local
First We Eat: In recent years we’ve seen serious disruptions in our culinary supply chains
Maintain your pelvic floor function
Fit to Farm: These muscles help keep our posture and vital organs where they belong
An often-overlooked source of common complaints like back pain, hip pain and fatigue lies in the hard-to-access soft tissues of our pelvic floor — the soft tissues within the inner bowl of our pelvic bones.
Grandma, stop hurting your family’s farm transition
Seeds of Encouragement: Hard commitment to a late spouse’s wishes may not align with what’s now happening in the business
The situation: A mom is not willing to consider that her dead husband’s wishes — which she wants to honour – may not be the best direction for the farm or the family in the current situation of 2025.
Cooking Canadian, part 1: Rediscovering cabbage
First We Eat: As Canadian food staples go, cabbage is cheap and plentiful
Cabbage and its bitter cousins — brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli — can be eaten raw, roasted, grilled, braised, stir-fried, steamed or simmered, best with something equally pungent, like garlic and onions, or salty, like anchovy or bacon.
Get great transition plans in place now and make my heart sing
Seeds of Encouragement: When you let go of things, you need something to move toward
Thirty years ago this week I published my first column with Grainews. It has been an honour to hear stories from readers on the steps they have taken to better their lives.
Build strength to prevent hand pain
Fit to Farm: Pain in the hands is a common problem — but don’t write it off as normal
Many hand issues actually originate in the tissues higher up in the arm. To keep our hands functioning well, we need to care for our shoulders and neck too.
Tools and techniques, part 4: Handmade
Inanimate objects have a time and place — but the hands are a cook’s first tools
My hands knead and stretch and shape, fold and pleat. They evaluate texture and assess degree of doneness. In the kitchen, my hands are my first tools.
Jaw clenching and tooth grinding
Fit to Farm: Regular, intentional tongue movement can reduce tension in your jaw, neck and shoulders
Stress management, dental care and other health factors remain important in addressing jaw clenching and grinding, but intentional tongue exercises may help you deal with the painful symptoms in the meantime.
Gifts with a warm hand, not a cold one
Seeds of Encouragement: Quietly hoping things somehow all work out when you die is asking for trauma later
Many readers fear greed and entitlement arising in any succession and inheritance discussions now, so they quietly hope things will just work out somehow when they die. “Let the kids work it out on their own” is the thought — which is like lighting a match to gas.
Tools and techniques, part 3: Between a rock and a hard place
First We Eat: Pounding ingredients with a pestle encourages a calm approach to cooking
My mom tells me my counters are too cluttered. “Why don’t you put some of that stuff away?” she asks me repeatedly. Much of the counter space in my old farmhouse kitchen is occupied by electric tools designed to grind foods or to alter their shape: a food processor, blender and coffee mill stand shoulder […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
