Better Farming - October 2016

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34 Farm News First > Better Farming October 2016
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Business Development Corporation;
past-treasurer, Maitland Trail Associ-
ation; and crew chief, Celtic Roots
Festival in Goderich.
What are your hobbies or recreational
activities?
I like hiking and being outdoors and
doing things with my kids. I catch a
lot of soccer games. Music (piano and
guitar), reading and gardening.
What was the last book you read?
A Man Called OVE by Fredrik
Backman.
What does your family think of farming?
My daughter has always been quite
interested in it and she notices the
quality of the crops as we’re driving
around. She looks at them like a
farmer does.
I would say my sons are not that
interested. My oldest son is studying
forestry. My other son is interested in
wildlife biology.
What’s your most important goal?
To take care of my family.
How do you define success?
I know a lot of people are very
concerned that their farm passes from
one generation to the next. I would be
more concerned that the people who
are farming are caring for the land and
getting joy from doing that as opposed
to saying, ‘I want my kids to be
farmers.’ I would rather see my own
kids doing something they like and
somebody who loved the land taking
care of it, if that’s how it worked out.
Is your farm vehicle messy or neat?
Well, our (previous) farm vehicle was
stolen and burnt, so we have a new
farm vehicle. It’s very tidy right now.
What are three items in your farm vehicle?
Pin flags (for scouting). Pens. Two
trailer hitches.
What was the last piece of field equipment
you bought?
Discbine.
What’s the best time of day?
Right now. I’ve been sitting on my
deck watching the sun set as we’ve
been chatting. I have lots of sunset
pictures.
What was your most memorable crop year?
2014. It was difficult right from the
start. I didn’t think we were ever going
to get the crops off. We were harvest-
ing almost right up until Christmas. It
was terrible. And the beans were
terrible. They all had white mould
– which I had never seen before. It
was very discouraging. BF
This interview has been edited and condensed.