36 Thank You for Your Trust & Time, Since 1999 Better Farming | January 2025 Discover Our Journey UP CLOSE What is your favourite part of being a farmer? Claire: We get to work alongside similar-minded people and our family. We all have a similar mindset and goals, which is key to our operation and helps us to be successful. How do you work together as a multi-generation family farm? Abby: This part is still in the works. We are the second generation on this farm, but we will be the fifth generation of farmers in the Schill family. Mom and Dad are adamant about us starting with our own land and equity and getting an opportunity to farm our own land. Emma: We are still working on succession planning. Since we are just married, we don’t know exactly how it’ll look with husbands coming into the family. A big part of how we work together is that everyone shows up to work every day. Our dad is still the boss, so everybody has to do what they are told and pitch in. If everyone isn’t showing up and going to work, there’s no point in succession planning. Steph: We try to teach our kids as much as possible, and we raised them to try to separate business and pleasure. It can be hard when working with family, but we have our office at work and go home at night. We keep work at work and home at home and we don’t sit around at home and talk about business. Everyone is also trying to take care of their mental health. We try to take weekends off and encourage holidays. What is a goal for your farm? Dave: I would like to see it successfully provide a living and healthy way of life for the next generation and provide a healthy set of values for our grandchildren. Abby: Mom and Dad have worked hard for everyone who wants a part of the farm to have a part of the farm. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard, but it means everyone has an opportunity. Your biggest farming challenge? Abby: In the north, we have challenges with weather and fewer heat units. Thank goodness we don’t grow corn. The fewer heat units and shorter day length have challenges. Emma: Farming in Northern Ontario is a whole new ball of wax. We were raised here, and this is all we know. We do a lot of clearing land and turning bush into farmland. It is a lot of trial and error, and a lot of breaking and fixing equipment, trying new things, and maybe getting to a field and realizing it’s not workable. Steph: Dave sits down and puts a lot of research into these factors. He looks at seeds from different places with varying heat units and goes over the research to see what in fact will work here. Claire: We have a good team of em-
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