WEYBURN - A past winner of the Outstanding Young Farmers award, Derek and Tannis Axten of Axten Farms Ltd., were recognized for their contributions to agriculture with the 2024 Golden Sheaf Award, presented by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening.
This was the highlight of the Chamber’s Ag Appreciation Night held at McKenna Hall, which included a banquet and an agriculture panel, consisting of three past winners of the Golden Sheaf Award, talking about the issues around sustainable farming.
The couple are third-generation farmers based in Minton, and their focus on soil conservation, regeneration and health has transformed their farming practices, with the motto, “Loyal to the soil”.
They won the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmers award in 2017, and went on to win the National Young Outstanding Farmers Award. Derek is now the regional chair for this program, and is dedicated to soil health as the president of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association, while Tannis is on the board of Regeneration Canada.
They have organized events that promote sustainable agricultural practices, and have hosted a number of farm tours, showcasing their work to producers and the ag industry.
“These tours not only demonstrate how their focus on soil health leads to improved yields, it also highlights how they’re marketing high quality grain,” said Monica Osborn, executive director of the Weyburn Chamber, in introducing the Axtens prior to presenting them with the award.
She noted the Axtens brought value-added processing to their farm with a processing plant and flour mill, which enables them to market their food products to local retail outlets.
Their focus on soil health includes using companion crops, cover crops, using compost and compost extracts and embracing crop diversity.
“They continue to lead the way as they adapt to the needs of the ag and food industry, and bringing new life into the community,” said Osborn.
Tannis thanked the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce for choosing them to receive this award “that celebrates farmers for their contributions to the ag industry and community means a lot to us.”
“Derek and I are passionate about improving soil health, and we enjoy using different farm practices to improve our farm’s resilience,” she added, noting the field days and tours are important as they are able to share their experiences with other producers.
“Hopefully we can help others to learn from our mistakes. Adding on a food-grade processing plant to our farm not only adds value to the farm, it also allows us to hire more employees, who have moved into the community. Without our team, we wouldn’t be here,” said Tannis.
The ability to market their products, such as their flour, in local stores like Old Fashion Foods in Weyburn “is very gratifying”, she added. “It fuels our passion, and keeping value in the community it what makes it so great to live in.”
The Axtens had two of their employees at the event, as well as their dads, and Tannis thanked them for all of their help and input.
They had been nominated for the award by Jeff Walkeden of Farm Credit Canada.
Osborn asked the audience of producers and business people to consider who might be a good nominee for this award next year.
“Recognition from your peers is one of the highest forms of acknowledgement. The fact that your neighbours, business partners or family respected your achievements enough to nominate you for this award is an honour,” said Osborn.
