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4 weeks ago | 
eaglevalleynews.com | Jessica Peters |Jessica Peters
Norm and Diane Melanson know they've lived to see a miracle — or perhaps a series of miracles — and it happened last Easter Sunday.
The Chilliwack couple was coming back from church. It had been a beautiful service, and they were on their way to meet family for dinner. Norm was at the wheel as they drove over the Yale Road overpass, when he suffered a major medical emergency.
His heart rate sped up incredibly high, so his pacemaker stopped and he seemed to pass out.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
It’s 2025 and I’m still struggling. Nine years ago, I made a video for this blog titled “Dear struggling farmer,” and though a lot has changed, a lot hasn’t. We’re still struggling, just differently. Or maybe it just feels different to me. Financially, I think we’re all still struggling. It feels like we’re one big disaster away from never recovering. The difference is that this time the milk price isn’t awful, but our costs continue to rise and the difference between the two is ever increasing.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
Dec. 11 2024 10:15 AMPopular culture puts a spotlight on farming whether its accurate or not. After five seasons, the TV show “Yellowstone” is coming to an end. That means that, a few months ago, I started watching it. No, seriously, I just started. But as a farmer on social media, it’s been pretty impossible not to be aware of the show for the last five years. Everyone — farmer, rancher, or otherwise — was talking about it. So, naturally, I formed an opinion.
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
cranbrooktownsman.com | Jessica Peters
A Chilliwack school board byelection will likely be held in March, and could cost an estimated $100,000.
The byelection is required to replace former trustee Heather Maahs, who is the newly elected Conservative MLA for Chilliwack North.
Maahs resigned from her long-time position as a trustee on Dec.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
I’m almost afraid to talk about this. You know as well as I do that as soon as you say it, everything goes wrong. But I guess I’m going to say it anyway. Right now, our calves are doing pretty well. And that is not a statement I make lightly. Over the years, we have had major issues with our Jersey calves. Like, “I’m embarrassed to talk about it” kind of issues. Like clockwork, our calves would start to scour between day 8 and 10, and it was all downhill from there.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
Did you know there are all different kinds of farmers? I’m not just talking about what you farm. There are farmers who ballroom dance, skydive, post makeup tutorials on YouTube, or spit mad rhymes. I’ve met farmers who are pyromaniacs, restore vintage cars, or fly airplanes. Yes, we are all farmers. And yes, we’re all different. Sometimes the toxic traditions surrounding agriculture push us to criticize those differences instead of celebrating them.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
I want to talk about food shaming on social media. You know what I mean, right? We’ve all seen social media influencers do it. They tell you things like, “If you don’t feed your kids organic food, you’re a bad mom.” Or “If you want to lose weight, you have to give up dairy, gluten, sugar, and carbs.” They use fear and carefully crafted videos or photos to get you to follow them and buy their products or ideas. It can be incredibly effective, but it’s not true.
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Sep 18, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
“Every night, after two shifts of milking and two shifts of feeding calves, I stumble into my house, put my dirty clothes in the washer, and then I shower. After the shower, I sit down to take my nightly pills. I always wonder, if I take enough of these and a few of those, would it kill me so I don’t have to do it all over again tomorrow? I just want out. I can’t keep doing what I do every day. Nor do I want to.”That’s the first secret I ever shared through my Secrets of Ag project.
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Sep 4, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
For the first year since COVID-19 happened, all but one of our annual farm tours are happening this year. I was genuinely shocked when I first heard that some farms won’t give tours. We have never turned down a farm tour. It’s our chance to show people what we really do, why we do it, and how much we care about it. But now, I can understand some people’s hesitancy. In case that’s you, I thought maybe I’d offer a few tips. First off, know your audience.
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Aug 7, 2024 | 
hoards.com | Jessica Peters
If you’re a dairy farmer, the title of this blog is almost sacrilegious, especially when you find out it was said by my vet. As dairy farmers, we’re raised knowing that you never give up. It’s never really said out loud, but you just intrinsically know that you’re meant to put that calf’s health above your own. It’s the dairy farmer way. Then, if the calf still doesn’t make it, you wallow in your guilt. Because it’s obviously something you did or didn’t do that made you lose that calf, right?
