ELROSE, Sask. — John MacDonald left a craggy island in the Hebrides for the windswept plains south of Rosetown, Sask.
The farm he started almost a century ago has been taken over by his son Don and is now operated by his grandsons Brad and Doug. It spreads over 4,300 acres, which is as big as some of the cold islands off the west coast of Scotland. The family has kept up the pioneering tradition.
“We’re always willing to try a new crop, if it can pencil out a profit,” said Brad a few days before seeding.
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“And with our cattle and our wild pigs and having both wives working in town, we make a pretty good living.”
Like most farmers in the area, the MacDonalds grow a lot of wheat and durum. But those aren’t the crops that are keeping them on the land.
The MacDonalds were some of the early growers of chickpeas, a crop that brought a much needed dose of hope when grain prices dropped. They’re ready to plant their sixth crop of chickpeas this season. The brothers have grown lentils ever since the two of them started farming together 14 years ago.
They also grow spices. While they have tried and passed on coriander, they have embraced anise. Last year they grew 200 acres of the licorice-scented crop. This year they plan 160 acres.
The reason the brothers have taken on these new crops is completely unsentimental.
“It’s strictly financial,” said Brad. “We’re just looking for something with a decent return.”
But he thinks his relationship with his brother is one of the true foundations of their success.
“I think we work as well together as any two individuals could who are so closely entwined,” said Brad, who is 43 years old. Doug is 48.
They each have permit books and individually sign up for crop insurance on their own parcels of land, but they farm their land as one package.
Doug specializes in the day-to-day operations of the farm, working out what needs to be done and when. He keeps on top of equipment maintenance and what’s going on in the field.
Brad does the long-term crop planning, researching different options for the farm. He doesn’t mind wading through the piles of forms that are an inescapable part of modern farming and he enjoys the financial and marketing aspects.
“He doesn’t argue with me when I suggest a new crop and I don’t argue with him about how to maintain the equipment,” said Brad.
“We have naturally split the decision making.”
On this evening, as the sun went down, Doug was in Brad’s yard checking on the bins.
“It seems to work 90 percent of the time,” said Doug.
“We get along better now than we did for the first 10 years.”
Partners contribute
The MacDonalds have worked hard to keep up with the changes sweeping agriculture. The farm is viable and part of that is the spouses’ contribution.
Brad’s wife, Kathy, teaches piano in Elrose and drives a school bus. When she started driving the bus she had to pick up 24 children. Now there are nine.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when there’s no kids to bus and no kids to teach piano to,” he said.
Doug’s wife, Penny, works in a greenhouse in Elrose.
And while the MacDonalds like their lives on the land, they aren’t pushing their children to take over. None of the kids are interested in farming.
“We haven’t particularly encouraged them,” said Brad.
“I don’t see a tremendous future in the industry. I really don’t know where it’s going.”
But for the near future the MacDonald farm will remain. The legal name of the farm is Iain Cailean, a Gaelic version of the founder’s name.
“We don’t get anybody else’s mail, but we always have to spell it out,” joked Brad.
