SELKIRK, Man. – During the growing season, Michelle and Doug Chorney normally wear the soiled clothes of active farmers.
During winter, they dress in suits or uniforms.
Regardless of whether it’s summer or winter, the Chorneys say they feel equally comfortable with their farming and city professions.
“I like to work on the farm,” said Michelle, who oversees the family’s vegetable growing and retail business.
“But by the time the snow flies, I’m happy to put it all to bed for four or five months. But then I’m ready to go again in the spring.”
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Doug and Michelle farm 1,500 acres north of Selkirk, a wooded area near the edge of the farming zone of southern Manitoba. They grow wheat, oats, canola and soybeans, as well as contracted pedigreed timothy hay seed.
The vegetable business includes 15 acres of sweet corn and about four acres of other vegetables, including beets, onions, carrots and zucchini.
Their 17-year-old daughter, Erin, and Doug’s 88-year-old mother, Adeline, also work in the vegetable business.
“She’s faster than me at picking beets,” said Michelle with a smile. Adeline started the vegetable business and lives in a nearby farmhouse, the one she shared with Doug’s father, Anton, until his death in 2000.
During the winter, the Chorneys spend much time off the farm following their passions.
Michelle is a postpartum registered nurse who has worked at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg for 25 years. Her commute takes 40 minutes door-to-door, but she doesn’t mind the drive.
“When I come home (after midnight), it’s just me and the deer on the road. I’m very relaxed by the time I get home,” she said.
Doug spends much time off the farm representing farmers as a member of the Keystone Agricultural Producers executive.
Wearing a suit is familiar for Doug, who once worked as a continent-trotting engineer for corporations such as Domtar and Bristol Aerospace.
“It sounds exciting, but after a few weeks, it feels like you’re on a long distance bus trip all the time,” he said, recalling his decision in 1993 to switch to full-time farming.
“I’d always liked the idea of farming. We were living here anyway. So I quit my job.”
Taking up farming didn’t give the family extra financial security, but it allowed him to be around his family and in daily contact with his parents and cousins.
Cousins Brian and Murray Chorney operate their own farms but also farm co-operatively with Doug. They often purchase equipment together and share what they have.
That follows a pattern set down by their grandfather, who operated a large farm in the 1920s.
“If someone wants to do something on their own, they can just do it and they don’t have to explain it. We work together without treading on each others’ toes.”
Michelle adds: “And the wives are all friends.”
This winter, Doug has been across Manitoba representing farmers at meetings, conferences and committees. He admits it’s a lot of work, but says it makes him feel like part of a community.
“It can be like group therapy. You know you’re not the only one dealing with $900 fertilizer,” he said.
