When you are the executive director of an organization that emphasizes the importance of having a conversation, presentations are inevitable. Adelle Stewart, executive director of the Do More Ag Foundation, says that whether she speaks in front of an audience of five or 500, she’s just happy to have people to have the conversation with…. Read More
The Do More Ag Foundation has launched its second awareness campaign since forming back in 2017. It Starts With Me will focus on the language around mental health and how a small change of your words can have a huge impact on someone’s well-being. “Our words can have such a powerful impact, whether verbalized to others,… Read More
Farmers will hear much talk of the need for resilience in the years ahead. From weather and markets, to trade, to family and managing day-to-day operations, farmers need to be able to cope with the challenges and setbacks that are routinely part of production agriculture. No one personifies resilience more than Springfield, PEI, dairy farmer… Read More
The longevity of a business is less about how well it does in the good times, and more about how it fares through the rough patches. A farm being resilient can come in many forms, but usually comes down to the strength of the management team running it and the financial nimbleness of the overall… Read More
Ontario has introduced its draft legislation to increase security on farms — the Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2019. The focus, certainly, is on the biosecurity and food risk associated with non-authorized people traipsing through farms and interfering with animals on their way to slaughter. The act, likely to be passed in… Read More
Working with family can be the most rewarding part of the farm business, but it also has the potential to be one of the most challenging aspects, full of emotion, relationship evolution, and conflict. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, host Shaun Haney is joined by Ed and Lyle Peters, father-son farm partners… Read More
The problem with stress is that while you’re in the thick of things, it can seem like there’s no end in sight. While a certain amount of stress is to be expected in the busy season of spring and fall on the farm, too much stress or not dealing with chronic stress can have both… Read More
If you’re sacrificing the amount you sleep during busy farming seasons, do yourself a favour, and focus on quality, for not just your health, but also your safety. “Sleep affects us in a lot of ways,” says Gary Chambers, co-host of the Fit Farmer podcast. “It affects our overall health, our ability to manage stress,… Read More
It’s the second year the Do More Agriculture Foundation, along with Farm Credit Canada (FCC), will be providing free mental health courses to several farm communities. This year’s goal is to provide the training to 20 communities across Canada. According to a news release, the training and workshops are aimed at developing community members who… Read More
Nominations are open for the Brigid Rivoire Award for Champions of Agricultural Mental Health. This annual award, now in its second year, recognizes an individual, organization, or group of individuals that has made outstanding contributions in raising awareness, addressing stigma, and supporting agricultural mental health in their local community. Created in partnership with the Do… Read More
Most Western Canadians are aware of STARS air ambulance, whether you’ve been to a fundraiser, heard the helicopter overhead, or have had you or a loved one be picked up by the air ambulance in the face of tragedy. As many of us in the agricultural sector reside in rural areas, we know it can… Read More
Yet another undercover animal abuse video rolled out last week, filmed months ago by animal rights “activists,” and released just as tweets and photos celebrating June as Dairy Month began. In the same week, mainstream media published several stories following up on what many farmers had brought forward at the Standing Committee on Agriculture: that… Read More
The Agriculture and Agri-Food standing committee released its 16th report dubbed, Mental Health: A Priority for Our Farmers. The report comes after the committee, back on April 23, 2018, agreed to undertake a study on mental health challenges in the agriculture community. From June 13, 2018 to January 29, 2019 — the committee heard testimony… Read More
The Do More Ag Foundation has announced the hiring of Adelle Stewart as its new executive director. The not-for-profit organization focuses on mental health in agriculture across Canada. “We’re excited to have her on board to help lead the foundation even further,” says co-founder Himanshu Singh. “Adelle brings an important combination of operational experience and the… Read More
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and its members are calling on farmers and allies to contact their government representative over the increase in animal rights activists’ activities and the lack of prosecution of charges. There has been a marked increase in activist activity on farms and roadsides in Ontario over the past few months. At… Read More