A new video is gaining praise for the way in which it documents the operations of a modern Saskatchewan farm.
Brian Zinchuk spent more than a year taking photos and filming LeBlanc Farms Inc. and R+ Simmentals, which are located west of Estevan and operated by the LeBlanc family. The 18-minute video was uploaded to YouTube on Monday and has already been viewed more than 2,300 times.
Jason LeBlanc, who is an owner for LeBlanc Farms, said the video project started last year for the 80th birthday of his father, Ross. The LeBlancs hired Zinchuk to take photos of the birthday celebration, and Zinchuk started discussing the work he has done in the oil patch through his company Brian Zinchuk Publishing, and through his job as the editor of Pipeline News.
鈥淲e started thinking we should do up a video of farming for my dad 鈥� for him to watch,鈥� said LeBlanc. 鈥淎nd then it progressed from there. It became a passion for Brian to do all these different things, and different sides of the farm, and different things that we do all year long.鈥�
Zinchuk showed at different times of the year, such as seeding, spraying and harvest.
鈥淓very season, every aspect of putting the crop in, from start to finish, including making corn silage,鈥� said LeBlanc.
Often times Zinchuk used aerial drones for the footage.
Zinchuk then took all of the footage and added music into the background.
鈥淏rian is a perfectionist, and he won鈥檛 quit until it鈥檚 done to his satisfaction, with many, many shots from different angles and so on in order to make a video. It was a lot of hours he put into it,鈥� said LeBlanc.
The video features members of the LeBlanc family, reflecting the role of family in the operation.
There is also footage of LeBlanc鈥檚 brother Marlin, who looks after the ranching side of the operation through R+ Simmentals.
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LeBlanc noted it was going to be a video for the family at first, but then Zinchuk suggested putting it on YouTube to showcase the technology used on the farm, and the life of a modern farmer.
The harvest footage stands out to LeBlanc the most. It touches everybody on the farm, it鈥檚 visible to those not on the farm. During the harvest, people often stop at the side of the highway and watch the combines.
鈥淚t鈥檚 lots of work, but it鈥檚 also lots of fun, and it鈥檚 the thing we do,鈥� said LeBlanc. 鈥淚f you look back at history, my dad started farming with a tractor on steel wheels, and he鈥檚 still farming today on a quadtrac, which is one of the most advanced tractors in the world. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 interesting to me, is listening to his stories when we鈥檙e out in the field.鈥� 听
LeBlanc admits he鈥檚 surprised by the reaction from people who have seen it. He thought it would be popular with family members, who know about the history of the fifth-generation farm. But it was quickly shared by family, friends and others in the farming community.
鈥淪ome of the people from the cities, from as far east as Toronto, have made comments that they didn鈥檛 realize this is what happens on the farm, but we see it every day,鈥� said LeBlanc. 鈥淲e think it鈥檚 normal.
鈥淥ne of the comments which was unique was they brought up the point that they have cars now that 鈥� can drive by themselves, and they said they didn鈥檛 think that was acceptable on a farm. I said we鈥檝e had it for 15 years already.鈥�
There have been just as many advances in the technology that goes into crops, like genetically modified organisms, as there is into the actual machinery, he said.
The grain farm component of LeBlanc Farms has about 15,000 acres, with canola and durum as its mainstays. Lentils, green peas, sunflowers, soy beans and corn can also be found on the land.听
R+ Cattle Company is a purebred cattle operation that calves out more than 600 cows.
Between the two operations, there is nearly 30,000 acres.听
