Essays and Opinions

Dear elder farmer, My friend gave me a hat which simply says: “FARMHER.” The feminist in me goes wild every time I wear it. When most people hear the word farmer, they picture an older man wearing a plaid shirt and a hat, and driving a combine. But, insert an h into the word farmer

The Thistle and the Forest Dear Elder Agrarian, Ten years ago this spring, the neighbours cleared some land. What was once a vibrant forest of beautiful complexity gave way to a barren soil and smoking piles. I played in these woods as a child and was struck by the sudden change. While some saw progress,

Dear Elder Farmer, We see you work: Building callus upon callus on your tan hands while you prep the air seeder for spring. We see your worry: The wrinkled brow; the scratch of your head; the antacid pills; the scraps of paper with calculations and a plan to make ends meet. We see your frustration:

Despite an increase in their numbers, women are still having trouble being taken seriously on the farm. | Getty Images Originally published January 18, 2018 in The Western Producer by Nikki Wiart At Lazy T Farm, a holistic cattle ranch near Halkirk, Alta., and a short drive from my own family farm, the future really is

By Kareno Hawbolt & Kimi Hendess, Sweet Digz Farm What a year!  As for all farmers around us, the wet cold spring played a huge roll in the timing of our crops, the speed at which we tried to catch up all season long, and the bumper crops of weeds that tried to take over the

On the first week of my farm apprenticeship I was already cursing my farm mentor’s dead father. Why? Page wire. My nemesis. Sort of. At the beginning of April, that time of year in Alberta when Old Man Winter cannot make up his mind if he is ready to pack it in or not, I

Note: This blog post comes to us from Chelsea Tims, a Vancouver Island farmer who is supporting the Unist’ot’en Camp in Wet’suwet’en by gathering food donations for the volunteer work camp in October. Click here to learn more about Unist’ot’en. And please contact Chelsea (chelseatims@gmail.com) to donate! Dear Farmers, I hope this email is finding you well as we begin to enter the fall

Farmers and ranchers are facing a summer of the fiercest B.C. wildfires on record. Many were forced to evacuate, and have lost animals, homes, and their livelihoods. Amongst the loss and devastation, we wanted to share an inspiring story from an off-the-grid rancher who managed to make it through. Thanks to Shanti Heywood for telling

We are excited to share this report on ecological farm internships edited by Charles Z. Levkoe and Michael Ekers. Contributors to the report are farmers, past interns, non-profit organizations, and lawyers. The goal of the report is to “assess the implications and trajectories of the non-monetary exchanges of labour and education, among other things, taking place on

Tamara Ranch is an amazing hub for those wanting to nerd out on gardening and grazing! Home to Prairie Pastured Gold Meats, Field to Fork Pasture Poultry and Steel Pony Farms we had a jam-packed tour with these amazing farmers. “I like to describe a garden tour like coming to a party. If you come and tour it in