Coffee & Conversation This Wednesday July 29

Take Stock: Accounting for the Good

It's easy to remember everything that's gone wrong. The good moments often pass by unnoticed.

This week we'll take time to share good news from farms across Canada, hear what's been going well, and explore why intentionally noticing the good isn't just positive thinking—it's something our brains actually need.

We'll also walk through the free Take Stock tool on Ag Care Connect together so you can see how writing the good down creates something you can return to on difficult days.

Wednesday, July 29

11 AM EST

Click "Reserve Your Spot" to view times in your time zone.

Free.​
​Producer-only.​
​No recording.

Take Stock Together: Start a Family Gratitude Jar

Our brains naturally pay more attention to problems than positive experiences—a built-in survival skill called the negativity bias. That's helpful when we're avoiding danger, but it can also mean we overlook the everyday moments that make life meaningful.

Our new Gratitude Jar activity helps kids (and grown-ups) notice those moments, write them down, and save them for another day.

Fill your jar together. Then, whenever someone is having a hard day, pull out a few reminders of the good that's still there.

Try This

Five Minutes Can Change Your Day

I wasn't convinced meditation was for me.

Sitting still and trying to empty my mind actually made me more frustrated than relaxed.

But Grounded's 5-Minute Farm Meditations have been different.

I listen while I'm working, driving, or sometimes when my head first hits the pillow. Personally, I find Kristen Kelderman's voice incredibly calming. I'm not being paid to say that, and I've never even met Kristen. I simply found something that works for me.

It may not be your thing—and that's okay.

But if there's even a chance it could help you breathe a little easier, maybe it's worth trying.

Grounded is currently inviting producers to join its pilot project.

→ Join the Pilot​

Growing Together

Look What We've Built—Together

Did you know Ag Care Connect only officially launched in January 2026.

In just a few months we've created free tools, articles, printable resources, activities for kids, Coffee & Conversations virtual producer sessions, and partnerships stretching from coast to coast.

None of that happened alone.

Thank you to every producer, organization, reviewer, researcher, volunteer, and collaborator who has shared ideas, expertise, and encouragement along the way.

We're growing something bigger than one organization.

We're growing a community. We're growing well together.

→ Meet Our Contributors​

Worth Reading

Farmland Doesn't Care Who Protects It

This week's featured article is a personal one.

After being seriously injured in a collision last December, I've had to rethink what it means to contribute to agriculture. This article shares that journey, along with a project happening here on our own farm to help protect farmland in Ontario—and why protecting food-producing land matters for all Canadians.

→ Read article​

Growing Food, Growing Community

Food sovereignty looks different across Canada. For some communities, it means protecting farmland. For others, it means finding innovative ways to grow fresh food closer to home. This inspiring story from Waterhen Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan shows how one community is using hydroponics to strengthen local food security, resilience, and self-sufficiency.

→ Read article​

From Shawna

One of the reasons we're gathering this week to Take Stock is because our brains naturally pay more attention to what's wrong than what's right. That helps keep us safe, but it can also make it easy to overlook the good that's happening around us every day.

Over the past little while I've been taking stock, and sharing videos and photos on Instagram and Facebook of the quirky things I've noticed in my day.

We often hear that trauma can spread through second-hand exposure, which is known as vicarious trauma. The opposite can happen too. Vicarious resilience happens when hope, courage, and the good we witness in others begin to strengthen us as well.

Joy can be contagious.

This week, I have a small challenge for you. Share one good news story with one person. Then ask them to share one with you. Notice how that conversation feels.

If you'd like, I'd love for you to join me on Wednesday, July 29 for Coffee & Conversation: Take Stock: Accounting for the Good. Let's share some good news together, and grow well together.

Shawna Percy

Producer, Founder

→ Visit Ag Care Connect​

Pass It Along

If this issue made you think of someone, we'd be grateful if you shared it with them.

Ag Care Connect is free for every producer and farm family across Canada.

Know someone who would like updates like these? Forward this email and invite them to subscribe at AgCareConnect.ca/The-Good-Ag/​

Growing Well Together.

One conversation. One tool. One small step at a time.