About six years ago, Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote and John Cote decided to take the farm business in a whole new direction. They bought an 80-acre parcel of land near Saskatoon where they built a distillery and now grow flowers.

You never know what these farmers are up to

OYF alumni are letting no moss grow under their feet

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF) had to forego the usual flurry of hugs and handshakes at their annual awards week this year, but they still ran an informative online event in early December. There were no winners to be announced for 2020. That part of the program was just postponed to, hopefully, later in 2021 […] Read more

Under the letter “R” a great gift

Under the letter “R” a great gift

Getting back to the basics isn’t about being cheap ... well, not totally

Here we are starting December — the holiday season ahead — and it’s a difficult time of year for a few reasons. And no, I’m not just talking about whether Joe Biden actually makes it into the White House to become the 46th president of the United States. It’s only mid-November as I write this, […] Read more


Why not go with positive thinking?

Why not go with positive thinking?

At times my brain seems to have a black belt in catastrophizing

Do you ever overthink things? This could apply to a lot of thinking, but I’m talking about having that argument with someone in your head hours or perhaps even days before you actually talk to that person. “Well I bet they will say this, well I’m going to say that,” and so it goes. I’m […] Read more



Have meal, will travel

A modified version of Farmer Appreciation night in southeast Sask.

The Weyburn Chamber of Commerce in southeast Saskatchewan didn’t let a little pandemic completely interrupt their plans to host an annual Farmer Appreciation Night this year. Rather than host a nice sit-down dinner in town that would draw farm families from surrounding Rural Municipalities, they did the next best thing under COVID-19 protocols and brought […] Read more

A wake honouring the memory of Phil Thomas, known to many across the agriculture industry as Mr. Canola, is expected to be held later this year. Thomas died suddenly following a brief illness in hospital at Red Deer, Alta., in mid-June at the age of 76.

Canola expert will be missed

Memorial service will be held to celebrate Phil Thomas

Canada lost one of its leading experts on canola agronomy in mid-June with the sudden death of Phil Thomas, a retired but former long-time oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Lacombe, Alta. Thomas, who was known not only in Canada but in many parts of the world as Mr. Canola, literally wrote the book on […] Read more


No turning back as the world Zooms

This face-to-face contact with humans is overrated

If there is one legacy this pandemic will leave us, we may never need to get out of our sweatpants, or leave the house again. In fact, there may never be a good excuse to have live face-to-face contact with another human being (other than immediate family members) ever again. I’ve never been Zoomed so […] Read more

Hopefully I’m not Zooming on the golf course this year

Hopefully I’m not Zooming on the golf course this year

My game is much like a solitary nature walk, narrated by swear words

It makes sense during this pandemic to cancel many routine gatherings, such as NHL hockey games, the House of Commons, church assemblies, bingo nights and the Olympics. I hope physical distancing requirements don’t impact two of my important summer pastimes — field days and golf. The field day season is just around the corner. There […] Read more


Perhaps I spoke too soon on the coronavirus

COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world on its head

Well, since I last shared my views on the COVID-19 pandemic a couple weeks ago, I am pleased to report that I was completely wrong, and although I am 100 per cent healthy, the spread of the coronavirus has affected/changed just about every other aspect of my life today and into the foreseeable future. I […] Read more

This will be my first pandemic

What’s my greatest risk factor — a virus or french fries?

I am not sure what is going to take me out first — A. the COVID-19 virus (also known as the coronavirus); or B. an overdose of media coverage of the COVID-19 virus. I don’t mean to sound flippant about the COVID-19 virus. As one of those in the high-risk category (a senior citizen) it […] Read more