Qu’Appelle, Sask. – Harvest was a distant memory for most southeastern Saskatchewan farmers on Oct. 21.
Not for Gordon Hamblin.
He took advantage of the gorgeous fall day to combine the last of his crops – 15 acres of barley.
Not that the Qu’Appelle, Sask., farmer was procrastinating this fall. Far from it.
Hamblin’s harvest was pushed back by other duties, which included preparing his other business for the post-harvest crunch.
“As soon as I get finished I’ve got orders waiting,” he said.
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Hamblin operates a small processing operation out of a steel bin on his farm. There he converts barley into flakes, turns wheat into organic flour and combines grain into a consumer-ready, four-grain cereal.
He is one of a number of grain farmers processing their raw product to move up the value chain, closer to the end consumer.
There is a lack of statistical data to measure how many producers are getting into farm-direct marketing, but finding somebody like Hamblin is easy.
Brett Fairbairn, director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, said the emergence of that type of farm-based business is part of what he has dubbed “the new agriculture.”
According to Fairbairn, the new agriculture is an offshoot of industrialized agriculture, where farms, input providers and grain buyers have become bigger, more centralized and more corporate.
In response to that, producers like Hamblin are creating retail goods on the farm and using farm-direct marketing in an attempt to garner more of the consumer’s dollar, he said.
For Hamblin, value-added processing has been the saviour of his small farm. He is convinced that without the processing sideline, his 720 acres would be in a banker’s hands by now.
But for every success story there is a failure.
The transformation from producer to salesman is more akin to a change in career than a seamless transition. And direct marketing is a career that doesn’t suit some farmers.
“You’re not selling a truck load of grain, you’re selling grain in bags,” said Hamblin.
Distribution is another issue to consider. For on-farm processors located close to a large urban market, distribution may be relatively simple. But for farmers located in a remote region of the Prairies, getting the product to market can be a challenge.
And for those counting on government help to ease the transition into the new agriculture economy, there isn’t much help available. Some financial aid is available but there is little assistance in terms of guidance and expertise.
Despite the challenges, it has been a worthwhile endeavor for Hamblin.
“I’m able to pay my taxes and keep my bills paid. I think that’s the name of the game.”
