Better Farming - January 2017

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38 The Business of Ontario Agriculture
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It’s the second year the family has
employed the mapping technology in
this way, he says. The first year, 2015,
“was a learning year for everyone and
(the approach) is new in general.” In
2016, “it worked really well.”
The family prioritizes conserva-
tion. When Don and Trudy bought
their current farm in 1998, for
instance, they added 10-feet grass
buffer strips along the municipal
drains on the property as well as a
cedar hedge row.
So they also use technical innova-
tion to achieve conservation goals,
especially with their farms being so
close to Lake Erie. (Don and Trudy’s
100 acres is less than two kilometres
from the lake.)
Using the air seeder to apply
fertilizer now allows full no-till on the
farm’s sandy loam soils, Neal explains.
Variable application rates mean the
right amount of fertilizer in the right
place and reduces the risk of nutrient
loss.
The family’s careful and thoughtful
approach to conservation has been
noticed. The Essex Region Conserva-
tion Authority and the Essex Soil &
Crop Improvement Association
awarded Neal and Don with the
organizations’ annual conservation
award in December 2015.
Describe your role on your farm operation?
NEAL*: My role on the farm would
be, I guess you would say starting to
take over managing it. (Neal, 28,
follows in the tradition of his father
and grandfather by working off-farm
full-time.)
Howmany people does your farm employ?
Just the four: my dad, myself, my wife
and my mom.
Hours you work per week?
Anywhere from 10 hours to 70 hours
a week, depending on the season.
Winter (I’m) not as busy and then
(in) spring and fall, busier.
Howmany emails do you receive per day?
Three to five.
Hours a day on a cell phone?
Approximately an hour.
What about your smartphone?
I have an iPhone.
Email or text?
I prefer text over email.
Any favourite apps?
Don’t really have one.
How about social media?
I use Twitter more than any other
social media.
There’s a lot on Twitter now.
Different articles – not just what
people are posting but news articles
that are shared.
Hours a day on the Internet?
That’s a toughie, because Twitter I
don’t use on my computer, I just use
it on my phone, so that would fall
under the hour I’m on my phone. So,
I would say less than an hour on the
Internet a day. A half hour.
How often do you travel?
Once a year, one big trip.
Where did you last travel to?
In July I went to Paris and Portugal
with Tracy. That was good. We were
there for just under two weeks.
Number of hours in the office each day?
I’m lucky because Tracy takes care of
all the bookwork.
So I would say, I couldn’t even put
an hour, just minimum amount of
time. In the springtime it’s never. She
takes care of writing the cheques and
recording everything.
What do you like best about farming?
Seeing a good crop, a clean field.
Seeing that the efforts have paid off.
What do you like least?
A bad-yielding crop. A dirty field.
What is the single most important lesson
you’ve learned?
(Maintain) respect for everybody in
the industry. There’s no point in
getting angry with people as getting
along with everybody goes further
than anything.
I guess that ties into the next
question as well, management
philosophy.