BRODERICK, Sask. – One-year-old Belle Ringdal toddles between the picture books and musical toys scattered around a sprawling new farm home as her parents talk about their future here.
Tanya and Clint, both 31, have left behind careers as a business development director and irrigation agrologist to invest time, energy and money in a 13,000 acre farm in central Saskatchewan.
Clint’s brother, Aaron, and his wife, Michelle, and father, Bill, and his wife, Gladys, are also involved in the farm, which grows lentils, peas, canola, wheat and durum on predominantly rented land.
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“That’s absolutely key to having an opportunity to start,” Clint said.
Land prices have risen significantly, but farming rented land allows the family to accumulate capital to buy machinery, expand and one day own more of their own land.
“Sharing the risk and the load, we will also have opportunities to get away,” said Clint, referring to the couple’s past travels to most of the world’s continents.
Their plan is to develop the farm to a point where it can comfortably support itself and the family’s lifestyles.
“Hopefully the farm will support that,” said Tanya.
Recent improvements in commodity prices and an opportunity to do more hands-on farming are her reasons for embracing farm life after growing up in Rosetown, Sask., and working in Saskatoon.
Clint focuses much of his time on marketing, agronomy and planning from his home office and through a network of industry contacts.
He takes advantage of Canadian Wheat Board options, sells up to 20 months in advance and buys inputs at cheaper rates in the off season.
“A lot of people want the home run, but we just want to make profitable sales,” he said of the family’s long-term view and proactive business plan.
Clint said he chooses crops based on sound agronomic crop rotation choices, market demands and “where I feel we can make money and what we can grow profitably.”
The Ringdals irrigate only five percent of their land, seeing it as a more labour intensive route that doesn’t pay on a large farm. A lack of access to three-phase power is another limiting factor.
“We don’t have the time to specialize in it to get the full potential out of irrigation,” he said, noting it’s better suited to specialty crops.
The couple’s foray into farming full time has benefitted from strengthening crop prices in recent years, adequate moisture, a good crop stand and timely rain this year.
Such improvements in agriculture are drawing more young people to nearby Outlook, allowing more social opportunities for the Ringdals, such as Tanya’s mothers’ club and volunteer work and Clint’s recreational hockey.
The family is in a growing phase and looking for ways to reduce the number of hours required to work in the field.
“We’re getting equipment in place and learning efficiencies,” Clint said.
“We’re trying to find a way to work less hard. It’s important to grow the acres, but keep the profit per acre the same or better.”
Tanya, who is expecting their second child in September, said it’s also important to keep a good balance between work and family.
“There’s a quality of life available to a young family on the farm,” Tanya said. “I’m glad we’ve been given this opportunity to be out here.”
The Ringdal brothers’ homes are a short bicycle ride from one another on the farm while their father lives in Outlook.
They manage the large farm with help from two full-time farm hands and seasonal workers, with Tanya and Michelle managing the farm accounts.
Individual responsibilities maintain harmony, with everyone communicating on the day’s events via radios mounted in the machines and homes.
“We do our own thing,” Clint said.
“It runs smoother that way.”
The brothers are also comfortable expressing their opinions, he said.
“We know how to argue,” he added with a grin.
Tanya said the family members bring different strengths to the operation, citing Aaron’s training as a journeyman millwright and her own non-farm viewpoint from the boardroom.
Clint said his expertise as a professional agrologist helps him appreciate the competitive advantages of the farm.
“The experience I had prior to farming in agricultural research is a huge asset to understanding the bigger picture and where the opportunities lie and to capitalize on them.”
