In what they described as 鈥渜uite an honour鈥�, Jordan and Jennifer Lindgren of Norquay were named the winners of the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmer award on June 21 at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina.
The award recognizes young farmers who demonstrate excellence in their profession.
The program seeks to recognize young farmers who are less than 49 years of age, make the majority of farm management decisions, and derive a minimum of two-thirds of their gross revenue from farming.
Each year an honouree is selected to represent each of the seven regions across Canada. These seven honourees are then recognized for their achievements at the National Outstanding Young Farmers event.
The Lindgrens farm in the Norquay district, and Jordan said 小蓝视频 a farmer was always what he planned.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all I鈥檝e ever wanted to do,鈥� he said during an interview recently at the couple鈥檚 kitchen table.
Jennifer was not quite as focused on 小蓝视频 a farmer, but agriculture was certainly her area of keenest interest.
鈥淚 went to the school of agriculture,鈥� she said, adding she was thinking of a job in the sector if not specifically running a farm.
But then the pair met, married, and began to farm.
The couple started out farming with Jordan鈥檚 father and uncle, buying some land of their own, and working in what evolved into a three-way partnership.
Over time Jordan had assumed the management role, and then about eight years ago the couple bought out Jordan鈥檚 father and uncle.
鈥淲e had to buy everything,鈥� said Jordan, noting his father and uncle deserved to be paid for what they had built up through their partnership of nearly four decades. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what they had worked their whole entire lives for. They deserved getting the most they could out of all their hard work.鈥�
There was never any hesitation to buy out the farm, but it took planning. There were kitchen table discussions regarding succession, and Jordan and Jennifer were helped out by having some of their own land and equipment to soften the impact of taking over.
鈥淲e were preparing for it,鈥� said Jennifer. 鈥淲e had built up to where we were able to do it.
The move increased the couple鈥檚 debt load, but Jordan said debt is part of farming these days. If someone is going to farm 鈥渄ebt is going to be part of it,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 no risk, there鈥檚 no reward,鈥� added Jennifer.
Without a base, Jordan said starting to farm today would be very difficult.
鈥淭rying to start up (from scratch) is almost impossible with the costs that are involved,鈥� he said.
Jennifer worked off the farm in the early years of their marriage, but as the farm grew, and their family arrived, they have four children ages eight to 12, she evolved to stay home and be an active member of the team.
Jordan said having her on the farm where she can bring meals to the field is a huge asset. He said having a hot, home-cooked meal is something his employees look forward to during the busy seeding and harvesting seasons, the time of sharing a meal 小蓝视频 a key element of building camaraderie.
Keeping workers happy is important on an operation where they employ two full-time and four seasonal people to get all the work done.
Jordan said he tries to create a working atmosphere where he鈥檇 want to work himself, if he were not farming. The workers are looked at almost as extended family.
鈥淭he kids think of them as uncles,鈥� said Jennifer.
Jordan said he needs good workers because his focus is on dealing with breakdowns, planning crop sales, doing the management that increasingly has his attention on a computer screen rather than the steering wheel of a tractor.
鈥淎s it is 25 per cent of my time is in the office,鈥� he said, adding he probably should be on the computer even more than he is.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e always trying to run scenarios in your mind,鈥� he said.
Jordan said he still enjoys time on the tractor the most, but that is something generally left to others.
鈥淚t鈥檚 working the land and 小蓝视频 hands-on. But my phone never stops,鈥� he said.
The couple also have their children involved, including 小蓝视频 out in the field at meal time.
鈥淗aving the kids out there means they get a feel for farming,鈥� said Jordan, adding meals in the field are certainly one of his best memories from his own childhood.
Jennifer said while the farm is now large, and most certainly a business, they have made it a priority to focus on family too.
鈥淲e decided a long time ago it would be a priority to us, to have the kids involved,鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 not always easy to keep the family farm philosophy and the business realities separate, but the couple tries.
鈥淚t does get blurred,鈥� said Jennifer.
But, they already make sure the children are aware that it is a family farm at heart.
鈥淓verybody in the family knows we are in this together,鈥� said Jordan.
And it takes all hands on-deck to operate a farm where 11,500 acres is seeded annually.
Jordan鈥檚 father 鈥渋s still out there all the time,鈥� said Jennifer with a smile, adding his uncle still plays a role too.
At times the elder pair are a sounding board for Jordan, although they have not seen eye-to-eye on everything through the years.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still some stuff where they鈥檙e set in their mindset,鈥� he said, adding when he was first taking over a greater portion of the decision making there were things 鈥渢hey felt that they knew what would work best.鈥� He said that was just the process of viewpoints based in different eras coming together.
Today, Jordan said he still appreciates 小蓝视频 able to bounce things off the pair.
鈥淭o have that experience available when I鈥檓 thinking about doing things, those guys have seen more things in their lives than I have,鈥� he said.
As for cropping choices Jordan has kept that part of the operation rather straight forward, growing wheat and canola in rotation.
For the wheat they shoot for an average of 70 bushels an acre, with a crop that dips below 65 seen as disappointing.
Over the years Jordan said they have tried other crops, most recently soybeans, but so far wheat and canola on their varied land conditions do best under the input regime they use.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely testing the limits,鈥� he said, adding he is a believer in fertilizing to the maximums to realize the genetic potential of the varieties they grow.
The Lindgrens also see a role in helping share information with other farmers. They do that by partnering with local agriculture distributors to host the 鈥楩ield of Dreams鈥� tour that is held annually on their farm, which is an opportunity to share trial results from previous years and showcase the current trials that are focused on new genetics, applications and variable fertilizer rates.
And this year they also plan to be a part of educating the next generation as they incorporate a 鈥楩ood Farm鈥� into their operation which is an interactive tour geared at educating Grade 3 and 4 students on agriculture.
So what of the Outstanding Young Farmer award?
Jordan said the nomination came as a surprise when they were asked if they would allow their names to be submitted.
鈥淲e just said we鈥檇 be honoured,鈥� he replied, admitting they were left to ponder if they were worthy of the nomination.
But then the process of reviewing their farm鈥檚 history to fill out additional forms began, and they came to recognize they have accomplished a lot since taking over the farm from his father and uncle who had farmed together for 40-years. Reflection is not always easy amid the 鈥渂ustle鈥� of farming day-to-day, said Jordan.
Jennifer added, as they delved into the records, while taking time to fill out the forms, it was a good process in terms of reflecting on their farm to-date and setting a few new goals moving forward.聽
