It was a unique gender reveal method — an air seeder that emitted a cloud of blue.
Erik Kohlenberg and partner Ashley Neubeker live near Gravelbourg with Ashley’s four-year-old daughter Tessa. Erik farms with his father, Martin, and unlike the eastern half of the province, their land was dry so they finished seeding before the halfway mark of May.
Before putting the crop in the ground, the couple received news that they would be having their first child together.
“We had an ultrasound and we were trying to figure out a way to have a gender reveal and involve the farm,” said Erik. “We saw things online about combines and stuff but that’s not really the season we’re in right now. Then we thought maybe an auger, but it would need a lot of powder.”
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Since the drill and cart were still hooked up to the tractor in the yard, the two planned the reveal with Ashley’s brothers, Kalum and Owen, giving them the results and having them load the cart for the big surprise.
Erik said Ashley used cornstarch and colouring to make both pink and blue colours so it would surprise both of them. The starch and the results, which were in a sealed box, were given to Kalum and Owen to put things in place.
“It was my idea,” said Ashley, “I don’t know what Erik told you but it was all mine. He doubted me from the beginning and said it’s never going to work, then he saw a video online and said that’s pretty cool, maybe we should do it.”
The couple waited with Tessa while Owen and Kalum got organized. With the tractor running and the cart fan on high, the lifted drill blew out the blue powder, signalling a baby boy was on the way, due Oct. 8.
“I think they (Kalum and Owen) are going to hold that (knowing the gender) against us forever,” said Ashley, “They were smiling from ear to ear.”
