A trip to Regina late last month produced more than just seasonal festivities.
It also resulted in a chance meeting with a self-professed “city kid” who is enthusiastic about the future of agriculture and his role in it.
Taylor Crassweller and his parents run Cedar Creek Gardens, a garden centre and agritourism destination just south of Regina.
We found ourselves there on a cold day a week before Christmas because of our 30-year-old daughter’s obsession with Miniature Highland cattle.
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She had discovered on social media that Cedar Creek Gardens is home to a Miniature Highland bull calf named Theo, so on Sunday afternoon before heading back to Saskatoon, five of us dropped in to say hi.
While the other four members of my party schmoozed with Theo or patronized the gift shop, I chatted with Crassweller about his own fascination with the breed.
This young man didn’t grow up on a farm, but a future in agriculture is definitely in his sights.
The plan is to eventually use his family’s business as a base of operations for a herd of Miniature Highland cattle.
To get things started, Crassweller drove to Washington state last fall and returned home with Theo in the back of his Ford Explorer.
If all goes well, the tiny bull will be the beginning of a new venture for Cedar Creek Gardens.
Crassweller has no illusions about what the end game is for animal agriculture.
“He won’t be eaten,” Crassweller told me while pointing in the direction of where Theo was entertaining visitors in his pen.
“But I’m hoping his kids will be.”
He was quick to provide data backing up his belief that raising Miniature Highland cattle is a solid business proposition.
For now, Theo’s main contribution to his new home appears to be acting as a visitor magnet, drawing in potential customers. From the steady stream of people making a beeline for the calf after arriving in the parking lot on the day we were there, it seemed he was performing his role admirably.
Those in the agriculture sector often fret about where the next generation of farmers will come from as the sector ages.
Crassweller and Theo give us reason for optimism.
