Lyndon Cote hops and hustles across the field like a jackrabbit.
The 11-year-old cradles a tray of sweet corn seedlings fresh from the greenhouse. Within minutes, the three-week-old hybrid corn plants are transplanted into neat rows in raised beds to soak up the sun and water.
Lyndon’s brother, two sisters and parents have a spring in their step and a satisfied smile on their faces as they plant.
The family has started building a high quality business called Tierra Del Sol (Land of the Sun), focusing this year on vegetable production.
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“Planting was a lot of fun,” said Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote.
“I think everyone had a blast. The employees had a good time. It was a fun time.”
The family sold its three generation grain operation near Leask, Sask., last fall and bought 80 acres of farmland and a home near Saskatoon.
They are venturing into new territory and a different commodity market, but they are no strangers to farming or agriculture.
Stefanyshyn-Cote and her husband, John Cote, are professional agronomists as well as farmers.
They have assessed their new venture and declared it doable.
“We’re probably higher risk takers on some things,” said Cote. “It’s not as big a risk as it looks like.”
The pioneer spirit of relocating and creating a new life isn’t stress free.
“You’d be very naive to think you could do it with no stress,” Cote said. “It’s like starting all over again. It’s kind of like going homesteading.”
The family’s change of direction was inspired largely by a rejection of the trend in grain farming to acquire more land.
They also felt there would be more opportunities and a chance for participation for their children in a family run business if they farmed closer to Saskatoon.
“Where’s the opportunity for the future generations in farming?” Cote said.
“We felt for our family situation, there’s more chance of getting our family involved if they have access to schools and they have a place where they can raise their children because as small towns get smaller, all those services start disappearing. That was a big driver behind why we moved.”
Added Stefanyshyn-Cote: “There’s nothing wrong with having done something and done it successfully and saying, ‘that’s enough, let’s try something different.’ ”
The relocation has come with its challenges, including the fact that the family has moved to a region of the South Saskatchewan River Valley south of Saskatoon known for its horticultural operations and where land prices can be 10 times more expensive than they are in Leask.
As a result, it was necessary to find a venture that would allow the land to pay for itself. The family thinks filling an increasing demand for consumer driven, locally grown food might be the answer.
“We did look down the road and say, ‘OK what’s the big trend: local eating,” Stefanyshyn-Cote said.
“People are paying more attention to what they’re eating, like the labelling and everything else. How can we capitalize on it? The price of fuel is going up and what are the opportunities?”
They spent the winter researching the agronomy of their new farm, consulting colleagues, creating a business model and working at a Saskatoon restaurant and high-end food store.
“That was a huge help for me just to learn retail,” he said.
“Now I understand a little bit more on what the customer wants, why they want it and when they want it. The consumer is a very demanding person.… They want more access. They want home delivery. They want all these things. Those are all the things that we want to try and build into what we’re doing.”
They are also trying not to get too far ahead of themselves. This year’s crop is called a test plot.
“It’s a doable risk and that’s part of the reason behind this year’s projects,” Stefanyshyn-Cote said.
“Let’s try this, let’s see what works. We’re not jumping into this. We haven’t gone and seeded corner to corner with one crop and saying this is what we’re going to do. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Getting a handle on their market is an important part of the venture.
“We’re much more focused on seeing where the markets are and then filling what’s needed out there,” Cote said.
But for now the focus is on growing vegetable test plots, mainly sweet corn and melons.
“Vegetables is not a bad way of making a living,” he said.
“This business can support a skilled workforce. You just need to be smart, mechanize where you can and get good individuals to work for you.”
Cote will also focus on ensuring the operation is profitable.
“Everytime that we’re researching something, it’s always going to get back to that cost of production. That’s my background of growing grain crops. You have to be competitive with somebody halfway around the world. If I’m going to grow sweet corn, I have to be competitive with Taber, (Alta.),” he said.
“Then we look at crops that retailers have problems accessing.… If we can produce it, what are our real costs?”
The family eventually plans to do more vegetable production off site and replace it with fruit orchards.
They hope to eventually plant hybrid grape research plots in collaboration with the University of Saskatchewan and want to develop a winery, which has already attracted interest from investors.
“I think that surprised me in that people are quite willing to become a part of what you want to do,” Stefanyshyn- Cote said.
“I thought a lot of people would have stood back and said, ‘go for it, you’re on your own.’ But they’re not. They’re interested and they like to see things going forward. They see potential, too.”
