Noel McNaughton

Back when I was a CBC news reporter, I was assigned a story on aging and health. I did my research and then found senior citizens to interview about their health and how the health system was serving them. The most surprising thing I found was that most of the people I talked to expected […] Read more

I received a letter a while back from Barbara Boyd, who ranches with her husband Richard near San Angelo, Texas. Richard has scaled down his ranching operations considerably during the past four years and says one of my articles gave him permission for what he was already feeling. However, Boyd said the article, which was […] Read more

I was talking with a fellow who farms near Swift Current, Sask., about an argument he’d had with an insurance agent. He and the agent were arguing over the settlement of a vehicle accident. He said he got so flustered with the agent, he couldn’t think straight. It was the next day before he thought […] Read more

Words can have a big impact on our self-image and self-esteem, which is why it is good to use encouraging words and praise with our children and with each other. Children who receive praise and positive support are far more likely to do well in school, be good business operators or employees and be good […] Read more

You probably noticed it first in the men of your dad’s generation. No matter what subject came up or how little he knew about it, such a man had an opinion about it. And not just a mild opinion, either. His views were firm and strong and he proclaimed them with conviction, like a hot […] Read more

Have you ever stopped to think about what made you decide to be a farmer or rancher? If you have, you may have thought it was your dad who was your role model and motivating factor for the decision. That’s what I would have thought, but apparently it isn’t so. Angela Wiley, assistant professor of […] Read more

Could a website be part of your retirement plan? Before you say ‘no’ and move on to another article about how tough farming is, read this. Yes, I know you are probably not computer literate. Yes, I know you are on dial-up internet connection, and it sucks. But think about this: the internet is the […] Read more

If a well-informed and trusted authority said you had to change your lifestyle, such as diet, exercise and mental approaches to stress, or you would die much sooner than necessary, would you change? Before you say, “of course,” think about this: according to many research studies, if you are like nine out of 10 people, […] Read more

It had started out innocently enough. Shirley had come home from her agent’s job at the insurance brokerage in town, upset about an e-mail from the regional office saying they were to start promoting a home insurance package with a new company. She thought it was a poorer value than the one they had been […] Read more

Larry was only 67 years old when he died. He sat at the kitchen table, smoking a rollie made with Vogue tobacco (“has some flavour,” he told people, “not like them puny tailor-mades”) and drinking strong black coffee out of his favourite mug. It was a big mug, with his name on it and the […] Read more