DUCK LAKE, Sask. – The survey map marking the quarter section where Marvin Arcand’s great-grandfather homesteaded reads Jean Arcand, 1887.
Jean came to Saskatchewan from Manitoba, and fought in the Riel Rebellion against the government. He was one of a long line of Arcands who gradually moved west from Quebec beginning in the 1660s.
Marvin is the fourth generation of Arcands to farm in central Saskatchewan. The current farm, dating back to 1909, is now three sections and the original land his great-grandfather owned is no longer in the family.
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After homesteading in the area, Jean later moved away to keep his 300 cattle ahead of a wave of settlers coming in. He ended up in Marsden, Sask., but his son, Marvin’s grandfather, stayed near Duck Lake and continued farming.
Marvin can remember milking cows when he was six years old. Now 58, he has seen the industry change around his grain farm and watched farms fade away or consolidate into larger ones.
This year, the Arcands saw a few acres washed out but the wheat crop was average and the canola was exceptionally good.
“It’s getting more stressful every year. It gets harder as you get older, and technology is harder to keep up with,” said Marvin, whose father contemplated quitting in the 1970s due to advancing technology then.
Auto-steer with GPS, huge horsepower engines and other technology contrast to how Jean carried out his labour with nothing but horses.
“What we do in a day now used to take him a month,” he said.
Marvin copes with the stresses of farming with a good sense of humour and by finding time for things he enjoys, including horses.
“You’ve got to start doing that while you’re still young enough to do it, because once you get older, you get to be kind of a coward, you know.”
He also enjoys time with his dog, Chip, a Border Collie roaming the grounds. Marvin has also learned to play guitar over the last seven years and played in a band.
Marvin’s wife of 36 years, Anne, works at a church three days each week and handles bookkeeping for the farm.
“We’ve been together so long, we don’t remember how we met,” she said.
Anne and Marvin have three daughters who all live in Saskatchewan. Asked if he wishes his children were involved with farming, Marvin said, “why torture your kids?”
Anne is looking forward to Marvin’s retirement so she can quit her job and spend more time with her infant granddaughter and pursue hobbies like quilting.
Marvin is more anxious.
“I’m kind of worried about what I’m going to do with myself,” he said.
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6/23/10
11:45:35 AM
