By Angela Lovell In the past, persuading farmers to grow hemp was a bit of a hard sell. It was challenging to harvest and there was no established local market for the baled fibre. Keenly aware of these issues, a group of Alberta entrepreneurs (that included farmers) knew they would have to develop a completely different grower program if they were going to get farmers onboard with growing hemp for the 40,000-square-foot decortication facility they planned to build at Bruderheim, Alberta, 40 minutes northeast of Edmonton. “Our model is seed, spray and walk away,” says Aaron Barr, CEO of Canadi ..read more

Over the past 25 years, Paul Adriaansen has focused on making his farm operation at Wellwood, Manitoba, as self-sufficient as possible. Having to rely on outside custom operators in the past taught him that having control of processes in-house saves time, money and means that jobs are completed the way he wants them done. “It becomes your priority as to what gets done,” he says. “Whether it’s the pilot for the sprayer plane, or the sprayer operators, you get a lot better job done because you can take them out to the field, show them what to do and have those conversations about how it should b ..read more

By Angela Lovell Building a successful farm doesn’t always require following the latest trends or diversifying into multiple enterprises. Sometimes, it’s about making incremental changes that add up to a more productive, profitable and sustainable farm over the long run. For Kevin Auch, that has meant paying close attention to the practices that have improved soil health, while managing the business of his second-generation farm near Carmangay, Alberta where he grows cereals, pulses and oilseeds.  When his dad, Don, moved the original family farm from Picture Butte to its current location ..read more

To be named as Saskatchewan’s 2023 Outstanding Young Farmers is an honour that siblings Jake and Sarah Leguee didn’t expect when they agreed to let their names stand for nomination along with their business partner (and brother-in-law) Erik Nikolejsin. But they all agreed that the timing was right to put themselves out there, have an adventure and interact with other like-minded farmers. “I felt the greatest opportunity in doing this was being able to expose ourselves to other successful operations,” Jake Leguee says. “Hopefully we can learn some things from them.” And there are certainly a fe ..read more

To be named as Saskatchewan’s 2023 Outstanding Young Farmers is an honour that siblings Jake and Sarah Leguee didn’t expect when they agreed to let their names stand for nomination along with their business partner (and brother-in-law) Erik Nikolejsin. But they all agreed that the timing was right to put themselves out there, have an adventure and interact with other like-minded farmers. “I felt the greatest opportunity in doing this was being able to expose ourselves to other successful operations,” Jake Leguee says. “Hopefully we can learn some things from them.” And there are certainly a fe ..read more

By Angela Lovell Chantelle Rivers Photography Kristjan Hebert admits he is addicted to the game of farming, and it’s definitely one of the reasons that his farming operation, Hebert Grain Ventures, has grown from 5,500 to 30,000 acres over the past 15 years.  “Nobody paid me to play hockey when I was little. I got up at 6:30 on a Saturday to go to a hockey tournament for free. That’s how we build the farm,” he says. “If you’re addicted to the game of what you do, it’s like playing sports when you’re young, but the outcome is you do a better job and you make more money.” Hebert rented hi ..read more

By Nerissa McNaughton Gatez Farms Ltd. is a third-generation, family corporation producing and providing premium grain, seed and pulse crops from two locations (south and north) in Alberta. With decades of growth, the success of Gatez Farms is due, only in part, to the premium products produced. The main thing this family grows is partnerships. From how to plant to whom to hire, from collaborative partnerships to industry advocacy, every aspect of operations starts in the deep roots of Gatez Farms’ values: honesty, integrity, kindness and respect. On that foundation, partnerships flourish – a ..read more

By Angela Lovell For the past 25 years, Lee and Dana Petersen and their family have not only farmed 3,500 acres of grain land near Hodgeville, Saskatchewan, they’ve also run a 100-head cow/calf operation and a custom combining business that takes them away from the farm for most of the summer and fall. Being that diversified involves a lot of management and organization, and it can definitely get a little crazy in the spring. “Basically, we plant our crop in the spring, we get it sprayed and then we’re gone until harvest,” Lee says. “We don’t see our own crop. We try to monitor it remotely. Th ..read more

By Angela Lovell You know the saying, you become like the people you hang around with? It’s true, and that’s why Dallas Vert and Natasha Pospisil, who run a farm and two other side businesses, make sure they’re surrounding themselves with creative and interesting people. Since they won the Alberta Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) title in 2019, they have gotten to know many other successful farmers and people throughout the agricultural industry. “When you’re talking about ideas and someone says, ‘that’s a pretty cool idea,’ it gives you a little pep in your step,” Vert says. “Whereas if you’re ..read more

By Myrna Stark Leader If one Manitoba farmer’s vision of the future comes true, the province his Ukrainian grandparents immigrated to will be the largest producer of buckwheat in Canada.  “It’s not happening today or tomorrow, but it might happen in my lifetime,” says Don Fyk, who farms about four hours northwest of Winnipeg, near Garland, Man. Fyk is convinced buckwheat is a viable crop choice given its preferred growing conditions, its benefit to the environment, nutritional merits and gluten-free boast. These factors convinced him to plan and build a 5,000-square-foot buckwheat de-hul ..read more