Grainswest - Fall 2021

Fall 2021 Grains West 26 “Because our perennial pastures are very poor, that’s going to help us supplement our grazing.” “We’re looking outside the box to see what we can do to increase profit per acre versus adding acres,” said Jolene. EXPERIMENT AND ADAPT With the summer’s scorching heat, Peter Bigler has considered the impact of increased weather extremes on his farm at Hawk Hills near Hotchkiss. “It has made me realize we have to lay out our farm to become more resilient,” he said. “Crop insurance doesn’t put bales in the yard.” He had just rolled into the farmyard on his ATV from tending cattle while wife Noelle Weiland was bailing nearby. The couple’s four children—Lauren, Erin, Shane and Sharman—are all in school, from Grade 11 to third-year university. Predominantly a cattle operation, they sow 800 acres of cash crops that may include peas, barley, canola or oats on slightly more than nine quarters. Most of their cattle spend a portion of their summer on two community pastures while Bigler grows winter forages on the farm. They calve 200 cows and background about half the animals. On the crop side, with no grain handling system, he makes do with several aeration bins. Born and raised in Bern, Switzerland, the scarcity and high cost of European farmland proved a no-go for the aspiring first-time farmer. The Biglers established a dairy and feeder pig operation east of Red Deer but inadequate water supply hampered its growth. The couple discovered the appeal of the Peace Country through friends who lived in the region. In 2005, they made the move and it agreed with them. “Just the sheer beauty of the land, the access to the river, we love it up here,” said Bigler. On the heels of the BSE crisis, however, it was a tough start for a cattleman. Most area grain farmers then grew grass seed, but in about 2007, the market tanked and the ready supply of roughage Bigler had counted on disappeared. He made adjustments and keeps on doing so. “My mindset is to experiment and adapt.” This includes experimentation with both feed and cash crops, as the latter can be turned into feed. “I can be a bit more adventurous than my straight grain neighbours,” he said. For example, he works with relay crops. He may take a barley silage crop off that gives way to forage species that tolerate cool, late- summer nights. “We’ve had really good success doing such things which always makes me happy,” he said. His input costs remain relatively low, which allows him to roll with nature’s punches, and though his income is modest, he said, it is also not subject to great fluctuation. Wet year or dry, and despite occasional grasshopper pressure, multi- species cover crops always produce. Last year, when excess moisture drowned his barley and oats and kept him from seeding a portion of his forage acres, annuals from the previous year grew tall and thick to save the day. The Peace Country has recently seen the construction of new elevators. These include this Richardson Pioneer facility now being built 35 kilometres west of Grande Prairie. FEATURE