On the Farm: The next generation receives hands-on experience as members carry on a family tradition of raising cattle
WESTLOCK, Alta. — Scott and Wendy Letts have their home farm on the original Letts family homestead northwest of Westlock, Alta., near the Pembina River. Family have been on this farm for more than 100 years, and cattle have been part of the farm all along. Scott and Wendy raise more than 200 head of […] Read moreTag Archives on the farm
Sask. cattle producers return to their roots
On the Farm: Randy James made the decision to leave the business for which he had so much passion but then found a way to come back
ARCOLA, Sask. — It all started with 4-H. At the age of eight, Randy James joined a local beef club. It was a fateful event that has taken him to cattle shows around the world. Growing up on a mixed farm with a commercial herd, it wasn’t a natural fit for the family to have […] Read more
Rural couple sells solar to prairie producers
Jennifer and Shane Hunter promote solar energy as good for the environment but also as beneficial for the bottom line
RADVILLE, Sask.—Southern Saskatchewan gets more than 2,300 hours of sunlight per year, and as far as Shane Hunter is concerned, that’s a valuable resource that is going to waste. The journeyman electrician established Meridian Solar and Electric Inc. with his wife, Jennifer, in 2016 to show business and farm owners that the power of sunlight […] Read more
Mustard focus keeps Alberta farmers hopping
On the Farm: Family buys from a local grain terminal and processes it in a commercial kitchen in a local community hall
There have been times when acres of blooming mustard decorated the fields at Luco Farms near Lethbridge. Those acres formed the basis of a business in prepared mustards that is now operated by the father and son team of Robert and Ben Luco. The two have prairie roots, and “prairie” is in the name of […] Read more
Organic grain marketers flex global muscles
On the Farm: Prairie Heritage Seeds had humble prairie beginnings in 1981 and now sells its products around the world
RADVILLE, Sask. — They run their hands appreciatively along the fur of the buffalo hide given to them by one of their grain contractors. While their organic grain marketing business is known worldwide, and is an economic success with 80 growers and 24 employees, it isn’t necessarily about any of that. Prairie Heritage Seeds is […] Read more
Solar energy helps power Sask. grain farm
On the Farm: The family say two lines of solar panels have reduced their quarterly electricity bill to $40 from $1,200
ETHELTON, Sask. — Harvest never ends on the Stevenson farm. Once they’ve got crops from their 2,400-acre grain farm in the bins, they continue to harvest solar energy. Tucked into the backyard, behind the garage and equipment shed, sit two lines of solar panels that gather light and energy from the sun. Tyler and Allyson […] Read more
Obstacles no match for horse training family
On the Farm: Broken ankle the latest setback for Roberta and Cain Quam, but they ‘would not trade it for anything’
KENDAL, Sask. — Obstacles have never stood in the way of success for the Quams and they’ve had their share of them. Challenges for the horse-training couple have come in the form of economic fluctuations in the horse industry, a devastating fire in 2009, their oldest daughter’s serious horse accident and now COVID-19, paired with […] Read more
Wild rice business takes family for wild ride
On the Farm: Harvesting the crop from northern Saskatchewan lakes relies on the weather and comes with highs and lows
Larissa Muirhead has witnessed the wild side of the wild rice business. The venture started off with a bang in 2015 and 2016 when her family agreed to a share-cropping arrangement with the previous owner of the operation on Meeyomoot Lake in northern Saskatchewan. “They were the highest producing years in wild rice history,” she […] Read more
VIDEO: Second generation prepares to run sod farm
On the Farm: The installation of an irrigation pivot made the business possible and a building boom helped it take off
It makes sense that land once covered in grass would produce good grass. Doug and Lois McGillivray took that chance in the 1990s to add value to their farm south of Regina, establishing a 500-acre sod farm amid their grain and oilseeds operation. They are now transitioning the successful Prairie Sod Farm to their oldest […] Read more
Garlic growers have no trouble selling crop
On the Farm: Alberta couple has increased what they plant every year since 2016 and social media takes care of the rest
JOFFRE, Alta. — In 2012, after years of living in Lacombe, Alta., and running several businesses, Mark and Brenda Visscher moved back to the farm where he was raised. They live on 4 1/2 acres of land that has been subdivided from the original base where Mark’s parents operated a mixed farm starting in the […] Read more
