carpal tunnel exercises

How to treat carpal tunnel at home

Fit to Farm: Symptoms begin when connective tissue compresses tendons and nerves in an already-busy area

Carpal tunnel is a condition that can affect anyone, anytime, though it’s especially common in those who work with their hands and do manual labour. The carpal tunnel is an anatomical term for the path the tendons in the forearm and wrist take underneath a bridge of connective tissue in the wrist moving into the […] Read more

skipper otto fish

B.C. fish for Prairie plates

First We Eat: A co-operative aims to sustain the sea for fishing families’ future

Wild fish was part of my childhood on Vancouver Island. We picked oysters and mussels, dug clams, scooped up spawning grunions, and cast hooks for salmon. But these days, as fish prices skyrocket and issues over whether to eat farmed or wild fish become ever more complex, my consumption of fish has plummeted, relying on […] Read more


Our questions and thoughts can create great conversations — if we let them.

Watch your words

Seeds of Encouragement: Self-defeating language can kill transition conversations and affect your mental health

Recently in one of our amazing membership coaching calls a farmer sighed loudly about his transition frustration and said, “It is what it is.” This sparked a lively conversation about how we handle our mental well-being, which is often bathed in waves of frustration as we try to navigate the needs and wants of founders […] Read more

back pain

Easing the strain of sitting

Fit to Farm: Joints in the spine can get compressed when you have to sit for long periods

A common complaint that comes along with the farm lifestyle and career is back pain. Non-specific low back pain — meaning the pain has begun with no clear incidence and doesn’t have one clear cause — makes up over 80 per cent of back pain complaints. In my line of work, often it isn’t as […] Read more


farm family

Great questions to uncover inheritance expectations

Seeds of Encouragement: Keeping a farm intact can complicate the process, but not insurmountably so

One of the key fears of aging farm founders is the conflict they anticipate when the farming heir has access to millions of dollars of land, and the siblings who are off to other careers do not have the same net worth opportunity in their future. Or do they? Firstly, where it is written that […] Read more

Dry-roasting quinoa before cooking is necessary to remove the bitterness imparted by naturally-occurring saponins on the seeds’ exterior.

Brunching, part 2: Quinoa

First We Eat: Grain dishes can be augmented with various textures and flavours

Threshing, winnowing, drying. Those ancient words resonate with us, and for good reason. Humans have been harvesting grains to use for food by these timeless methods for millennia. Just think of wheat, barley, rice — and quinoa (pronounced keen wah). Quinoa, like amaranth, is not a grain, but a high-fibre pseudo-grain — an herb, in […] Read more


Sticking to a family code of conduct means respect and honesty in communication, and commitment to healthy, emotionally intelligent forms of conflict resolution.

Using common ground for written agreements

Seeds of Encouragement: Put intentions and interests into well written words before change inevitably comes

I hope you are reading this on your phone while waiting in the field, which would mean #plant2024 conditions are perfect to go. The type of “common ground” I refer to in the headline is not your soil; it’s the things everyone on your farm team is committed to work toward. As mediators in conflict […] Read more

quiche in a parallelogram shaped pan

Brunching, part 1: Quiche

First We Eat: Build it properly with a wall of flavours, and real men can and will eat quiche

When Dave and I started to plan a recent family gathering, we quickly realized a daytime event was more likely to suit our guests than an evening supper. Even as the sun moves back north and daylight hours lengthen, time spent talking after eating often means our guests would face a drive home on gravel […] Read more


Spending time outside of shoes, experiencing textures and touch, will benefit your feet — not to mention the rest of you — in the longer term.

Let your feet flex and feel the floor

Fit to Farm: While necessary, shoes do limit how your feet's natural structures can work

Have you been told you have fallen arches or flat feet? A common misconception is that our foot posture is unchangeable or uncontrollable. Just like any other part of the body, there is quite a lot we can do to support the physical health and mobility in our feet. Many clients that I meet have […] Read more

Farmers, farm families and farm workers get more energy when they are clear about their roles, skills and passion being in alignment.

Who is responsible for what on your farm?

Seeds of Encouragement: Collaboration, consultation, clarification help build better work cultures

If you’re gearing up for spring planting or tending to livestock, you know there are many daily tasks to complete, and your mind may be saying “The work on this farm is never done.” Many young farmers are keen to work hard to prove they are ready to become farm managers — but what tools […] Read more