How to help Grandpa, finish well

How to help Grandpa, finish well

“I wasn’t able to talk for over two years about what happened with my grandfather”, a young farmer confides as he describes a bitter battle over the transition of land titles from his father’s father to him. I am concerned about the many threads of conversations...
Helping Farm Dads Let go of Control and Stop Micro-Managing

Helping Farm Dads Let go of Control and Stop Micro-Managing

7 signs your Farm Manager is micromanaging They must know everything. They don’t delegate. They ask for frequent updates. They discourage independent decision-making. They dictate how tasks should be done. They re-do other employees’ work. They don’t...
How to re-invent your farm life as you age with Mind-Switch

How to re-invent your farm life as you age with Mind-Switch

Harvest is in full swing on our farm, and I am not there…for a few days. Where is it written you cannot leave the farm during harvest? (Almost on every page of the unpublished book “The Culture of Agriculture.”) If you are one of the 2800 folks who have stumbled upon...
The Gift of Contentment

The Gift of Contentment

Years ago, as part of the redecorating project of my flooded basement, I took an ancient (faded) mountain print gold framed picture to the glass guys and had a mirror put into the frame. The print had faded to blues, but the story behind the picture prompted me to...
The power of a letter to get unstuck

The power of a letter to get unstuck

Sometimes we have to go back to basics in order to keep healthy change happening on our farms. I have been encouraging frustrated young farmers to write a letter of intent to their founding parents. People who are stuck with a large degree of anxiety and overwhelm...