Family shares the load
CLARESHOLM, Alta. — Four-month-old Elizabeth Fankhauser is all smiles as she sits in her parents’ sunny kitchen on the farm east of Claresholm. She appears to share their optimism and enthusiasm for farming.
Her parents, Josh and Shauna Fankhauser, farm with Josh’s father, Fritz Fankhauser, and two uncles, Ron Lamb and Cal Lamb. Between them, they grow crops on about 7,000 acres annually on their 10,000 acre property and run a 450-head cow-calf operation, all of it called Lamb Farms.
The young couple lives in the same house where Josh’s mother grew up. Josh and Ron have already decided what to plant this year — canola, peas and wheat — and he is eager to put the new high-clearance sprayer to work in the fields.
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They think it’s a good time to be in the agriculture business, although Josh jokes about one aspect.
“There’s almost too much optimism. Land prices and rents are getting stupid. I wish there was a little bit of pessimism here again. I’m an optimistic guy so if there’s a few pessimists out there, that really helps me out.”
Josh wanted to farm since childhood. Shauna grew up in St. Albert, Alta., but craved rural life as well.
“I always wanted to live on a farm. I was about five when I realized you didn’t have to live in the city,” she says.
She has a degree from the University of Alberta in range and pasture management. Josh has a college degree in agriculture with a minor in business. The two were introduced when Shauna visited friends in Claresholm.
“The first time we met, we were arguing about the food versus fuel debate,” Josh says.
Shauna worked in Lethbridge after they were married but is now home with Elizabeth. Her knowledge of pastures is handy on the cattle side of the operation.
Josh gravitates to the cropping side. The wide open spaces of country living appeal to both, as does the challenge of farming.
“It works the brain. There’s always something to learn. You’re not just doing the same task over and over again,” says Josh.
For him, a lot of brain work goes into precision farming techniques that he has been developing since his college days.
The farm uses variable rate technology, yield monitors and other high-tech equipment and programs, most of them initiated by Josh.
He has also undertaken numerous plot trials and is in the second year of what he hopes will be a three or four year variable rate fertilizer trial.
Working with family can be a challenge but Josh and Shauna say it works well for them because everyone works in their area of interest and expertise and consensus is not required on every decision.
“Dad, he makes the decisions for the cows and we just trust him. Because he likes it, he makes that extra 10 percent profit because he’s managing it to the maximum potential,” says Josh. “It’s the same for us on the agronomy side.”
The family has done some work on succession planning. At the moment, it appears Josh is the only one of three kids in his family interested in the farm. His brother, Ben, is a computer programmer and his sister, Miriam, lives on a dairy farm in Switzerland.
“But it’s an open file,” Josh says.
He and Shauna say it’s fine if Elizabeth wants to farm one day, though it’s a bit too soon to gauge her interest.
He sees farming as more of a business than a lifestyle. In fact, it’s a business similar to many others, even his father-in-law’s flight school.
“It’s low returns based on the weather, and unpredictability. Same with the farm. We’re not special. There’s lots of others with the same types of challenge, just in a different business.”
Shauna believes in sustainability and practices that protect the soil against the ravages of wind and weather.
“It’s how we make our living and we want to be as responsible as we can be, and for us that means no tilling and spraying chemicals so we’re not ripping up our soil and losing our topsoil when the chinooks come through.”
