DUCK LAKE, Sask. — Eight years ago, Les and Elsie Hunter had been farming for more than four decades and were ready to retire, travel and spend time with their grandchildren.
They called a family meeting with their four children and to their surprise, they were asked not to sell the farm.
“That was something they didn’t want to do,” Elsie said.
Two of the couple’s sons, Kenton and Shelly, decided it was time to move back to the area and farm full time.
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Kenton drove a tow truck, farming on weekends and during the summer, commuting from the home in Saskatoon he shared with his wife, Tasha, and their two children, Jacey and Quin. Tasha worked as a district manager for a clothing company.
Kenton bought more land and the family moved to a house in nearby Rosthern, Sask.
Shelly and his wife, Natalie, and their son, Brennen, had been living in Alberta while Shelly worked in the oil business.
“The oil patch was very very slow and I was looking for something better to do at that time,” Shelly said.
They bought land and moved to a yard site near the family farm.
“It’s actually living (Les’s) dream because that was exactly what we planned way back thinking maybe someday we’d farm with the kids and have them live close and that’s what’s happened,” Elsie said.
The family now farms 4,000 acres between at Duck Lake and Rosthern.
“When it rains here, we can always work up (at Rosthern) or if it rains there, we can come home here and work,” Kenton said.
The Hunters grow canola, wheat and oats and used to produce yellow peas until root disease was found in their soil.
“We have to stay away for five years so we’ve been away. I look forward to peas being back in the rotation,” Les said.
Kenton bought a high clearance sprayer and now does most of the spraying. Les and Kenton own the farm equipment so Shelly pays his brother to do custom work.
The farm now hires a worker during the summer.
Elsie was once actively involved in fieldwork but today helps Tasha and Natalie take care of the household by paying bills and cooking meals.
The family makes sure to take time to relax and have fun, spending time at the lake during the summer and snowmobiling in the mountains during the winter.
“Les believes in working hard but he also believes in playing. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t take time off and it’s just more fun now with the kids close and the grandkids around,” Elsie said.
Les and Elsie, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year, are trying to step back from working on the farm. They often spend part of their winters in the United States.
Having their sons back on the farm makes the transition to retirement easier, said Elsie.
“We’ve got a good relationship all of us. It works good, it really works good.”
