Children keen on taking over | Sask. farmers ready to slow down and travel the world
DODSLAND, Sask. — Hap Bennett credits earlier generations for his family’s good life on the farm today.
“We’re lucky to be a third generation farm and have an opportunity to pass it on to the fourth generation,” he said.
“It’s hard to get a farm to pass on. It is a lot of co-operation and learning to bite your tongue.… Our goal when we started to farm was to pass it on without a lot of debt so the next generation could have it.”
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Bennett, who was nicknamed for the happy baby he was and whose real name is Ken, created two farm companies to create more options for managing the farm.
He and his wife, Lorna, grow canola, peas, lentils and cereals on 2,300 acres in west-central Saskatchewan, depending on what looks like a good money earner. They own 16 quarters and rent three.
He called last year one of his best crops ever, thanks to timely rain.
They also maintain 300 acres of pasture for a 25-cow bison herd. Bennett put the saline land into grass and has found the buffalo are a good way to use it.
Bennett’s maternal grandparents, Charles and Florence Henderson, established the farm and barn in 1910. The house was originally built in 1912 but has since been significantly refurbished.
Charles, a newspaper publisher and member of Parliament in the 1940s, created a large corporate farming venture with partners, and today’s Bennett farm is part of what remains of that original venture.
Lorna, a former manager with Federated Co-operatives Ltd., joined Hap on the farm after their marriage.
The couple has taught Farming to Win courses, and Lorna has served on the Agricultural Management Institute board.
The photography buff is also known for taking hockey portraits at the local rink.
Hap is a director with the Prairie West Terminal and has served on the Dodsland Credit Union board and as a rural municipality councillor.
Lorna called such community involvement professional development and a chance to meet people who in turn have offered them advice, support and expertise.
“It helps when you see the broader picture. You can make better decisions.”
Hap said his off-farm work in past winters for the Farm Land Security Board benefited the farm.
“It made the difference between having a really nice life here and not being here.”
He said his parents also “gave him a heck of a start.” He started farming after high school and bought his first farmland at age 20.
“I was always going to farm,” he said.
He likes fixing things, but finds that difficult to do with today’s specialized implements that require specific tools and training.
Lorna said farming and her husband are a good fit.
“He likes to be in control of his own decisions, and be accountable for the decisions and mistakes,” she said.
The farm acquired bison at the “worst time,” Hap conceded.
The couple compensated for poor markets and prices by slaughtering and selling animals from the farm-gate and by supplying the local rink and fundraising ventures. The market has since improved, and they now sell live yearlings.
The pair took the long, cautious road to farmland and equipment expansion. They preferred to take on what they could manage well, but were quick to add innovations such as variable rate applications and GPS.
“We’d rather do a really good job of fewer acres,” said Lorna.
Added Hap: “There was lots more we could have bought, but we would rather have a neighbour than have his land.”
The Bennetts have managed with help from their three children: Jeff, 26, Shannon, 24 and Erica, 21, all of whom have expressed an interest in farming one day.
The Bennetts welcome that development, as a segue to slowing down and tackling more world travel, such as a recent visit to Africa and an upcoming trip to Peru.
“The world is such a big place and you learn everywhere you go,” said Lorna.
“We came home from Africa and felt so fortunate to live here.”
