NEW NORWAY, Alta. – “This is my last chemical toque,” said Steven Snider while donning a green, ratty-looking hat that he’s had for more than a decade.
Free caps, T-shirts and pens – all compliments of chemical companies – are perks the 30-year-old organic farmer has decided to live without.
But this farmer, who lives in the New Norway area and operates Little Red Hen Mills with a brother and his parents, is not complaining. Aside from enjoying the lifestyle of an organic farmer, he appreciates the different markets and price premiums the family’s grains draw.
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“Ultimately we’re all in the business to make a living, not to lose the family farm,” said Snider, whose operation became certified organic 14 years ago.
And the decision continues to pay off. Snider has two shiny half-ton trucks and a snowmobile to roar through his snow-covered fields while his parents take their annual vacation in Florida.
The family members also operate a seed cleaning plant and none of them has to venture off their 1,700 acres for work. In fact, their equipment is paid for and they have enough grain in the bins to pay for a year of bills if an emergency arises.
But making more money isn’t the initial reason Snider supported the idea of organic farming.
“It started as a lifestyle. I went for it whole-hog when Dad suggested it,” said Snider, who remembers once being sick for several days after spraying.
He notes the transition was tough at a time when there were few models and land had to be chemical-free for five years before it could be certified organic. Now it takes only three. At first, the family probably sold only five percent of its crop for organic premiums, said Snider. That total is now about 90 percent.
“You didn’t want to tell people. There was a real stigma and people would come down hard on you,” said Snider, who admitted in his college years he didn’t tell many people about the family’s operation because of the ridicule he knew would follow.
“I know people were waiting a long time for us to go broke.”
But any taunts added more fuel to drive them toward success, said Snider.
“You’re knocking back 50 years of technology and saying ‘no’ to it. What if you lose? But what if you win? That was the whole appeal to it,” said Snider, who noted organic farming combines new and old technology.
Today, there are still farmers who don’t agree with organic agriculture, but the public at large is impressed, said Snider, who added that his family had always left some crops unsprayed and used reduced rates on others before officially going organic.
“We’re very public sympathetic now,” he said, and later pointed to a stash of organic flour he keeps on hand for the people he swears are coming out to stock up before the supposed Y2K crisis hits.
Demand for organic grain has picked up dramatically overall, said Snider.
“Instead of shipping 200 tonnes to Joe Blow in Vancouver we’re sending B-trains.”
Snider said his family experimented until finding a successful six-year crop rotation that interchanges fall rye, a legume and cereal mix, and two years of plow-down.
“You don’t learn to do this overnight. I’d hate to say I know what I’m doing. It’s an illusion. Sometimes it’s just luck and hit and miss.”
And Snider knows the lifestyle that includes detailed planning and plenty of paperwork doesn’t suit everybody.
“People may think it’s great to be an organic farmer. But don’t be fooled. There are as many bad as good. I’ve seen quite a few train wrecks.”
His family follows its own set of tried and true strategies. About one-third of the yearly crop is devoted to fall rye, which moves primarily to the United States, although some goes to the Alberta manufacturers of Sunny Boy cereal.
“Rye is our bread and butter.”
While it’s traditionally a lower priced crop, the Sniders earn a premium for guaranteeing supply and high quality stock that is ergot free. As well, the grain holds its own against weeds.
“It’s the cornerstone of our weed management plan.”
Rather than trying to eliminate or control weeds, the Sniders strive to ensure their crops compete well against them. Their six-year rotation sees a field devoted to green manure twice and if a crop is too ridden with weeds, it will be plowed under. A rod weeder that pulls weeds instead of cutting them off is an important part of their operation.
“The idea of being able to eliminate weeds is foolish. Mother Nature will not be defeated. You have to work with her.”
Besides developing practical methods, the family has always been innovative, said Snider. The operation features a large shop where the men spend plenty of time doing repairs. They save money by buying used equipment fixed by Steven and his father, who went to school for diesel mechanics and agricultural production.
Sometimes hours are spent designing farm gadgets, Snider said, while showing a funnel-like system he created to separate peas from similarly sized dirt balls. His newest project is to develop an organic feed ration for chicken farmers.
“You have to try something new or life gets boring.”
In his spare time Snider likes to travel, hunt and fish. He reluctantly admits he has been known to bake cookies from Sunny Boy cereal.
“I’ve baked cookies since I was five years old. Mom had three boys. We had to learn to fend for ourselves.”
As well, he’s active in the political scene. A member of the Alberta Organic Association, he wants to see national organic regulations cemented so Canada can secure lucrative European markets before the Americans catch up.
“If I’d died and gone to heaven I’d like to see us established way ahead of the Americans.”
His other political goal is to see organic wheat and barley taken out of the Canadian Wheat Board’s jurisdiction. The administrative costs and time involved to buy back grain for export licences keeps many organic farmers from growing those grains, he said.
Snider, who bought his first combine at 16 and says it still works, knew he wanted to farm since he was five. His family holds a field day every year and he gives lectures at universities about the operation.
He hopes organic farming will attract more young farmers who can sustain a living from the land, which he thinks is worth more than gold.
“I’m not moving anywhere. I’m farming fourth-generation land and I’m proud of that.”
