Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 grainswest.com 21 In August, inspired by Guitard’s claim the Peace Country has long been ahead of its time, GrainsWest set out on a road trip to gauge just how progressive its farmers are. As pre- research, I contacted farmers and ag professionals across the region. Repeatedly, I was told about neighbours doing “great” and “interesting” things. In all, photographer Zoltan Varadi and I visited seven farms and three research stations from Beaverlodge in the southwest to Fort Vermilion in the northeast. And, at everyone’s urging, we spent an entire evening photographing the La Crete Ferry as it crossed this enormous region’s namesake waterway, loaded with farm machinery, timber, hay and people. AGGRESSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE At Prestville Farms headquarters, just south of Rycroft on the west side of Highway 2, Caroline Sekulic had just hired a much-needed bookkeeper. Pedigreed seed growers who operate their own seed plant and cow-calf operation, she and husband Nick are busy and ambitious. The couple’s 7,300 acres of cereal, oilseed and pulse crops in the central Peace are spread across the counties of Spirit River, Birch Hills and Saddle Hills. Being one of the few seed growing operations in the Peace Country, they sell everything they grow as demand for locally produced seed increases. Their children Olivia and Theo will study commerce this fall at UBC and the University of Saskatchewan, respectively. On Aug. 10, they assisted their mother with early harvest and seed plant duties while Nick was on tour in Eastern Canada with son Max. A business student and aspiring pro golfer, Max had just won the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in Windsor, ON. Like this family comprised of farmers, finance professionals and a sportsman, the Peace Country is known for its variability. This includes soil. The Sekulic farm ranges from grassland to sandy loam and grey wooded. Climate is particularly varied. “People think on their feet up here,” said Caroline. Harvest can bring rain, hail and snow. “There are always changing weather concerns. We have to move quickly.” Despite the notoriously short growing season, much of the Peace is suited to long-season crops such as spring wheat and canola. The Sekulics grow early-season cereal varieties for clients whose local microclimates demand them, but these are not their main trade. “The lion’s share of our business, the focus is on yield, competitive value and economic potential,” said Nick, on the phone from Max’s winning tournament days earlier. “We have a much more compressed harvest season,” he said. Though summer moisture maps indicated the Peace Country fared better than much of the Prairies, their area endured an unheard-of week of 40 C weather. High moisture is the norm, however, so most farmers here employ tracked machinery and dryers or aeration equipment and bin monitoring systems. Beating the short season is critical, and the Sekulics have used a high-capacity grain dryer since 2012. They harvest cereals as high as 21 per cent moisture and straight cut canola as high as 15, then clean and dry immediately. Launched in 2019, the Prestville plant now features an Alvin Blanch dryer and heated seed treatment facility. Necessity defines the Peace Country. It drove many settlers to the region as the rest of Prairies had largely been developed. What drew Nick’s grandparents to homestead here in the early 1900s was productive, well-priced and available farmland. Successive generations were shaped by demanding growing conditions. This has made Peace farmers both progressive and aggressive, said Nick, who also serves as a Seeds Canada director. “When they aren’t farming grain or running cattle operations, they’re involved in logging, oil and gas and trucking to help build their businesses,” he said. He added farms in the region tend to be big and good agronomics bring robust productivity. With good rail access, grain export from this vast region is efficient. “There’s a reason they keep adding big grain terminals in Peace Country,” said Nick. AT PEACE Just south of Fairview, we asked Neil Boyd if his field practices have helped his crops through the ongoing drought. He answered by walking us out to a canola field. He dug in under the thick crop canopy for a handful of soil heavy with organic matter, surprisingly moist and cool. Boyd lives and farms with balance and moderation, an approach that has delivered agronomic results as well as contentment. Each workday begins with freeform yoga and easygoing CBC Radio music program Mornings with Saroja Coelho . In this restorative routine, he pays attention to the physical complaints that come with farm labour. A serious devotee, he is vice-president of the Feathered Pipe Ranch Foundation of Helena, MT, a non-profit humanitarian group whose various educational programs include yoga retreats. “After I finish my yoga practice, I feel great,” he said. “I go on with my day feeling more flexible, and your mind feels more open. You need those things to be a farmer.” “When they aren’t farming grain or running cattle operations, they’re involved in logging, oil and gas and trucking to help build their businesses.” —Nick Sekulic