MULTI-SKILLED FARMER — There's a lot to learn about leaf cutter bees, which are alfalfa pollinating bees, says farmer Brad Dreger of Manitoba's Interlake region. (Sutherland photo)

REVERENCING THE EARTH

By Donald Sutherland

To succeed, farmers must be multi-skilled

To be successful, farmers must be multi-skilled perpetual students of their particular ecosystems as well as of their personal lives as spouses, parents and community supporters. This challenging reality became crystal clear to me on July 8, 2010 as I drove north of Winnipeg on highway #6 in Manitoba’s Interlake region and pulled into a farmyard unannounced — at the northern edge of Manitoba’s agricultural land.

Brad Dreger and his hired man, Mike Feschuck, met me in the yard. Both were friendly and welcoming. I told them I had dropped in to find out all I could about farming in their part of the Interlake. Brad and his spouse Christa are the owner/operators of a busy and complex farm, as well as nurturing parents of three teenagers, each with their own interests.

Until this spring, the largest enterprise on the farm was cow/calf with 350 cows and several bulls. Last November, a management decision was made to sell the cattle and switch to the sale of alfalfa seed as the No. 1 farm enterprise. Brad mentioned three reasons for selling the cattle: “Our children showed little interest in cattle, cattle require a year-round time commitment that seriously interfered with the time I want to spend with my family, and continuing low prices for calves and cull cows.”

Naturally, Brad and Christa are now on a steep learning curve because the knowledge required for leaf cutter bees — alfalfa pollinating bees, not honey producing bees — is very different from a cow/calf operation. One of my many questions was, “What are your sources of technical information when you are so new to this high-risk enterprise which requires that you market quality alfalfa seed?”

Brad’s response: “I rely heavily on experienced alfalfa seed growers and retired growers — I stay in touch by phone and in person with five elders whose combined experience is well over 100 years.”

Brad advised that the commercial options best suited to his farm location, climate and soil type are: cow/calf, growing and selling hay, alfalfa hay or seed, oats and canola. Crops such as hard red spring wheat, lentils and durum wheat are sure to be losers. The soil is clay loam with a water table almost at the surface.

Brad and Christa place priority on providing every opportunity possible for their three children to excel, not only in school, but in their extracurricular activities, including baseball, curling and barrel racing. To participate at a highly competitive level, many trips to Winnipeg are required, despite the round trip distance of some 500 km.

Living a balanced life is evident on this farm. Time is made available for learning, for working, for family and for community. The ability to blend personal renewal and family responsibilities into enterprise learning, plus intensive labour and management requirements is made possible by the inclusion of Mike Feschuk within the team. Mike has worked on this farm for the past five years.

Sutherland is a professional agrologist who divides his time between Saskatoon and Winnipeg, and farms in west central Saskatchewan.