ETHELTON, Sask.—The Taylor name is part of the landscape near Ethelton, in northeastern Saskatchewan.
When the family arrived there in the early 1900s, it settled on land with rich black soil and no stones, said Ryan.
His great-grandfather, Herbert, had nine children in his family, many of whom remained and raised families of their own.
Between 350 and 400 people were expected to attend the Taylor family reunion this summer, all descendants of Ryan’s great-grandparents.
To get to Ryan’s home, visitors travel a few kilometres down Taylor Road, pass within a few hundred metres of the Taylorside Gospel Hall and turn into a well manicured yard where Ryan and his wife, Vicki, have lived since 2001.
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The quarter section that they call home was originally settled by Ryan’s great-great-uncle, Walter, in 1902.
It was eventually passed to Ryan’s grandparents, then to his parents and now to Ryan and Vicki.
The couple recently had the farm registered as a century family farm, a designation conferred on Saskatchewan homesteads that have remained in the same family for 100 or more years.
Ryan grew up around cattle and crops, and as a teenager joined Beatty 4-H Beef Club.
He eventually got involved in breaking and training ponies, a hobby he still enjoys.
He also participates in team roping and competes in a few local events each year.
Through 4-H, he met Vicki, who grew up nearby at Weldon, Sask., and was a member of the Weldon 4-H Beef Club.
To Ryan and Vicki, city living was never an option.
Vicki trained as a nurse in Prince Albert, but knew she would never opt for city living.
The pair knew it wouldn’t be easy making a living as full-time farmers on two quarter sections.
“To make a living in farming, you have to have a lot of land … or a lot of cattle,” Ryan said.
“We love living here. It’s a great area and we have great neighbours, but to make it, we both have to work off the farm.”
For Vicki, that means commuting to Kinistino, Sask., where she works at a long-term care home and health centre.
Ryan, meanwhile, struck a deal with neighbour Murray Stevenson, who he once worked for. Stevenson offered him a full-time position as a machinery operator and Ryan and Vicki use Stevenson’s farm equipment to plant and harvest their own crop.
This year, they have 300 acres planted to wheat and canola.
Despite an extremely wet year in 2010 and an abundance of moisture early this spring, farmers in the Melfort area got into their fields in decent time.
“So far, this year has been perfect. The crops look good and the mood in the area is as good as it’s ever been.”
Until last year, the Taylors also kept a herd of commercial cattle and ran a custom calving operation for other beef producers.
They got out of custom calving and sold their own animals in the fall of 2010.
“It was different, both good and bad,” said Vicki. “For me, I grew up with cattle so it was a big change, not having to feed cattle every day and put bales out every day.”
“I miss the cattle, especially in calving season, but it’s good. We’re going to do some travelling now and we’ll have time for some other things in the winter instead of always being tied down.”
The Taylors are considering Las Vegas this winter, not to visit the casinos, but to attend the National Finals Rodeo in December.
