Mother in the middle

Mother in the middle

Farm Family Coach: This Mother’s Day, work to communicate with each other, not through Mom as an intermediary

When two family members are unable to have effective communication, they often turn to someone else to hear them out. Many times, alas, this is Mom.



Imagine breathing in via the feet or seat, up the body and down the body, out via the same anchor point.

In the present tense

Fit to Farm: Stretching isn’t necessarily the answer for tight muscles

Tension is a precursor to conditions such as anxiety, pain, sleep issues and many other health complaints — and is an important early symptom to acknowledge and for which to seek support.

Analyzing your farm’s future cash requirements can help safeguard you from a major pitfall.

Common pitfalls in farm finances

Farm Family Coach: Active management in some key areas can reduce unnecessary struggles for your farm

Consider how cash management, diversification, risk management and investments could reduce unnecessary struggles faced by your farm.


Comfort food for hard times

Comfort food for hard times

First We Eat: What foods help you find peace in stressful situations? Here’s one of mine

Hand-pulled Shanghai noodles redolent of wok hei, the near-mystical “wok energy” or caramelized smokiness that has been called the breath of a wok, are a revivifying dish of comfort — soul food for hard times.

Adapt to change with the power of grief

Adapt to change with the power of grief

Farm Family Coach: Major changes — even the ones we know are for the better — will come with a surge of negative emotions

When a person goes through a major change in life, they experience a downward trend of negative emotions — often expressed as anger or sadness — before they can fully accept that change.



Preparing against the worst can set farms up for safety success.

What would your farm look like without you?

For Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, get your family members and employees involved in safety planning

If you were to go missing, get laid up with an injury or pass away unexpectedly, how would your family or employees handle your absence?


A late spouse’s will may call for farmland to be divided to all children, even non-farm heirs, but a surviving spouse will need to consider new circumstances that have appeared in the meantime.

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.