Farm Life | Spring 2010
Young farmers balance idealism and economics.
By Cindy Bablitz
Last December in Ottawa, in a room filled with hundreds of their peers, Grant and Colleen Dyck of Niverville, MB, took top honours in Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ Program. They shared the award with co-national winners Greg and Tania MacKenzie of Stratford, PEI. (See the MacKenzies’ story in the Winter 2009 issue of Farm Forum.)
“The calibre of alumni in the Outstanding Young Farmers’ organization is impressive,” says Grant. “This is a really progressive group to be involved with.” Grant and Colleen, both 32, embody the spirit of the Outstanding Young Farmers’ program. With a constant stream of innovative ideas, a great work ethic and a positive attitude, the couple juggles the demands of three companies and three young children, Leo (2), Oskar (4) and Georgia (6).
The couple run a second-generation, 12,000-acre grain and oilseed operation dubbed Artel — meaning a group of people working together toward a common goal. Artel has seven full-time and 18 part-time employees. Grant is also co-owner of WoodAnchor, a reclaimed lumber and wood products company specializing in unfinished and pre-finished wood flooring using old timbers from prairie grain elevators, trees cut down due to Dutch elm disease, and other species cut down due to development of farmland. WoodAnchor is one of only a few providers and manufacturers of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) eligible wood products in Canada.
“Currently WoodAnchor is the only reclaimed wood flooring manufacturer between BC and eastern Ontario and we’re the only wood company in North America specializing in reclaiming landfill-diverted elm,” he says. Colleen leads an active lifestyle, with hopes of participating in a triathlon down the road. She’s recently started The Gorp Project, creating a high quality, great tasting energy bar made with natural ingredients, many from their farm. (For a more details on The Gorp Project, visit www.farmforum.ca/gorpproject.)
Grant took over the family farm when his father passed away suddenly nine years ago. The ensuing seasons of experimenting in food production brought a host of ideas to the dinner conversation including the viability of organic chicken soup and hemp hearts. Idealists at heart, the pair try to balance the responsibilities of being part of the global community of food producers while at the same time caring for the environment, their family and community. They practice zero-till or minimal-till and strive to improve efficiency, decrease operating costs and minimize resource use.
“There isn’t a lot of black and white in agriculture,” explains Grant, “And as producers we have to be open minded: a high-volume, low-margin farm is going to sustain itself. We do feel we’re in a noble occupation.”
Adds Colleen, “you won’t have a voice unless you survive. Our goal is to continually move toward what works best for our family and our community. There’s a balance between idealism and economics we’re constantly trying to strike.”
The ethics of food production has seen some press as of late. And, according to Grant and Colleen, one fallout of the rural/urban gap is a real world disconnect between questions of practical production viability and theoretical food-related morality.
“Everyone eats, so everyone’s entitled to an opinion,” says Grant. “But a lot of times, the latest magazine headline is taken as testament. Food education can’t stop there, however. A lot of fear and misinformation is being generated, with issues sometimes raised by media for shock value.”
What’s clear is that these outstanding young farmers are ready to take on the challenges today’s issues bring to the table without dulling their pencils. A sharp focus on the bottom line will ensure long-term viability. That way, their voice can lead future generations of food producers. FF
