Next year marks Canada’s 150th birthday, and you can bet there will be some phenomenal events held in conjunction with the occasion. For the agriculture industry, 4-H Canada is planning a summit of global proportions. In this interview filmed at October’s Advancing Women Conference, Shaun Haney sits down with Jen Christie (@savvyfarmgirl), newly-minted chair of… Read More
Are you good at networking? Or are you more likely to wonder why, as a farmer or rancher, you even need to? Perhaps you think networking is for salespeople, lawyers, and business big-wigs. According to our interview with Marie-Helene Budworth networking is for anyone engaged in business, and you’re probably much better at it than you… Read More
I have a fatal productivity flaw in my life. I procrastinate on many tasks in my daily agenda. I have no idea why. Personally I hate it. People around me tend to hate it as well and I constantly try to fix the tendency. It’s not an easy habit to drop. According to Rory Vaden,… Read More
Are you regularly grumpy? Do you know someone that’s happy all the time and wonder, what is wrong with him? Is he/she just way too happy? To turn the tables: are you as happy as you could be? Sometimes in our busy lives we struggle to find happiness on a daily basis. Many times it’s… Read More
I attended the Advancing Women Conference in Toronto this past month and had many discussions and interviews with speakers and attendees. One of my absolute favourite discussions from the September event was a relatively impromptu conversation with Cynthia Crowley of Crovalley Holsteins. Cynthia and her family have a dairy farm — a two time master… Read More
Over 450 women from across the agriculture community met in Toronto earlier this month for the 2016 Advancing Women in Agriculture — East event. Dianne Finstad has become a fixture at the Advancing Women conferences, keeping everybody moving and entertained as MC. She sat down with RealAg’s Shaun Haney to chat about her highlights from the… Read More
The Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference kicked off today in Toronto, Ont., with an opening address by Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, Jeff Leal. RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney is at the conference, and managed a quick interview with minister Leal following his address. Below Haney asks about farmer competitiveness in the face of… Read More
United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) has seen many changes since its 1909 start, with the amalgamation of the Canadian Society for Equity and the Alberta Farmers Association. Today, the co-operative includes more than 100 bulk fuel and petroleum cardlock locations, 35 farm and ranch stores, and 1200 employees. One thing hasn’t changed though. UFA is… Read More
It’s the world’s challenge to provide safe and affordable food, Kay Kuenker, entrepreneur and consultant told delegates at this year’s Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference (West). And, according to Kuenker, women must be involved in addressing this issue. “Women are showing that every imaginable discipline or role in that can be fulfilled by a woman,” she… Read More
It was made pretty clear at the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference in Calgary: women need to be more involved in boards. According to a survey conducted by GMI Ratings, in 2012 women held just 10.3% of seats on Canadian boards, a far cry from the 30%, and ultimately 50% goal outlined by a Report… Read More
The third Advancing Women Conference was held this week in Calgary this week, with over 560 women attending from across Canada and into the United States. Delegates represented over 200 organizations, and had the opportunity to learn about everything from happiness for no reason with Marci Shimoff to getting ahead in stressful times, with Marla Shapiro. Delegates… Read More
The Ag Women’s Network (AWN) unveiled a new brand, and organizational structure in Guelph and Calgary last night. Originally formed in 2013, the Network now boasts over 1000 followers on their Facebook page. “We were initially focused on connecting young professionals,” said Jennifer Christie, the network’s Chairperson, in a release. “But over time, our membership grew to… Read More
In the run up to Canada’s 42nd election, diverse representation was brought up again and again in leaders’ debates and in campaign promises. Today, the House of Commons has the representation of nearly 40 visible minorities and equal numbers of male and female Ministers. And the topic hasn’t been far from the minds of agricultural… Read More
4-H has historically been a male-oriented organization, going back to the early days in Roland, Manitoba in 1913. But, female involvement has grown, with women taking many leadership positions in the last decade or two. In fact, around 60 percent of 4-H Canada members are now female — well above the average mix of women at… Read More
When asked whether failure or success makes a leader, Dianna Emperingham of Bayer CropScience says it’s best to experience a balance of both. Leaders, she says, learn from failures and move on. It can be difficult to be a leader, but even harder, is to lead with courage, Emperingham says. Courageous leaders make difficult decisions. “You need… Read More