Try this caesar salad dressing recipe

Try this caesar salad dressing recipe

First We Eat: Not just for salad it’s also great spooned over a variety of foods like grilled or roasted veggies

We arrived for a preliminary visit at the farm in June 2010, a month ahead of our move-in date. Over-anxious? Eager? Yes, both, but mostly we came early to help my aging parents move out — into a bungalow in a nearby town — and to paint the old farmhouse we were moving into. I […] Read more



Dare to lead and love your farm family

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

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

Mustard greens, or flowering gai lan, a Chinese form of broccoli, are assertive and blend well with strong tastes.

What to use for salad greens while waiting for local produce

First We Eat: In winter, turn to sturdier greens for warm salads and veggie dishes

In winter, when arugula and other salad greens travel thousands of miles, have been contaminated with E. coli or are too costly, I turn to sturdier greens for warm salads and robust vegetable dishes. Mustard greens, or flowering gai lan, a Chinese form of broccoli, are assertive and blend well with strong tastes. When I […] Read more


Jim Anderson stands where some cows have gathered at a Frostfree Nosepump water well. When thirst beckons, the cows use their nose to pump their own water. This very sustainable watering system operates year round from heat in the ground and needs no electricity. Read for yourself how it all began including contact information.

Singing Gardener: Meet Jim Anderson from Alberta

Learn about his farm and his cattle nose pump business

Previous Singing Gardener columns have often included what’s going on in someone’s garden. Well today, a story begins shortly that comes straight from the farm where we find Jim Anderson of Rimbey, Alberta. It results from my article about dowsing, divining and witching for water. Matter of fact, the subject of witching attracted a number of responses, so more on that […] Read more

Careless tongues are often a sign of stress, be that seeding, harvest, late-night calving and other times where fatigue, hunger, and anger all create an explosive situation.

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


This is Barrington  Belle, a large-flowered Japanese-type peony. Note how the rose-red guard petals surround a large central tuft of red and pink staminoides edged in gold. Other Japanese-type peonies are Ama-No-Sode, a very floriferous pink variety with a gold-edged centre, produced on strong stems and Japensha Ikua a heavy bloomer of rich, shining plum-red flowers with yellow centre.

Singing Gardener: Get acquainted with peonies that have people names

Plus, more info about the hackberry tree

During my primary grade school years, teachers focused a lot on memorizing — especially poetry. One poem in particular that still vividly speaks to me, even to this day is “Trees,” by Joyce Kilmer. His dramatic poem whose words appear next,  may also speak to others out there among our family of Grainews readers. I think that I shall never […] Read more

Modern-day sausage making

Modern-day sausage making

First We Eat: This was once a good way for butchers to use up trimmings but now a good way for you to control ingredients

Sausages used to be the great unmentionable, made from things no one wanted to know about, never mind eat. But although they began as the thrifty butcher’s way of using up trimmings, sausages have gone uptown. Making your own sausages, like anything homemade, means the cook controls everything, from the selection of meats, salt and […] Read more


While many would expect that a certain level of fatigue and tension would accompany the busy seasons, there’s more to it than that.

Here’s some tips to help prevent muscle tension

Fit to Farm: Farming includes long hours spent on equipment but pain and discomfort shouldn’t be a normal side-effect

Farming is an industry where scheduling is ruled by the seeds we sow, the animals we raise, and the people we feed. While many would expect that a certain level of fatigue and tension would accompany the busy seasons, there’s more to it than that. Tension that causes discomfort or pain and fatigue are signs […] Read more

Surprise! I’m coming back to the farm

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