Values are our cherished beliefs and have a huge impact on our behavior. If your life activity is aligned with your values, then you likely look forward to how 2015 plays out. If you aren’t getting what you need and cherish, then you are likely highly frustrated.

Being able to talk freely with your farm team and feel they understand what you need is a huge gift. Farm families in business sometimes get stuck with problems when they get trapped in the “blame game” of blaming someone else for their problems.

Winter is a good time for farmers to sit and reflect. Now, you may argue with me that dairy farmers never get to sit for long at any time of the year, but I would like you to use some time this winter to consider how you take care of your mental health. I ponder the words in my journal as I sit in silence in my morning ritual of the “quiet chair” tucked in the windowed corner of my kitchen.

I’m sure you may have heard a farmer say, “Someday this farm will be his,” or “Someday we will get to the lawyer’s office, but we have work to do.” My sister, Barbara Edie, wrote the headline, “Someday is not a day on my calendar,” when she relayed the memories of an active 1988 spent with my other sister, Grace, who died tragically that year. Barb’s resolve was to never put things off and not let “someday” creep into her thinking.

I am extremely grateful for the three neighbours who showed up with three extra combines to harvest in September; it really made a huge difference in reducing the stress on our farm. When I relayed this story to an Easterner, he said, “Wow, they still do that out there.

Does your farm team have the ability to apologize and accept mistakes? I was saddened to hear a young farmer confide in me that in all his years, he has never once heard an apology from the farm manager, his father.

When I was a very small farm girl, dressed in my homemade red velvet jumper, I looked forward to “Edie” Christmas on Boxing Day with my cousins. I recall my great-grandmother singing “Silent Night” to us in German.

After the traditional wedding season, many farm families have welcomed a new family member this past year. My new book, Farming’s In-Law Factor, co-authored with Dr. Megan McKenzie, has some tools to help you have more harmony and less conflict on your farm.

Are you a dairywoman who wants to get a better handle on your money issues? Deborah Owens, author of A Purse of Your Own says, “A man is not a financial plan.” It’s a sobering thought to realize that 90 percent of women will one day be in charge of their family’s finances.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have real-life examples of how I make mistakes, but my mishaps make good fodder for this column. Last harvest, I was the combine driver who backed into the fuel truck while I was unloading my auger for cleanout to move to the next field.