Man. farmer would encourage her younger self to keep exploring

Mar 05, 2024

Paige Dueck wanted a career working with animals and now she’s got one

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

If Paige Dueck, a dairy and grain farmer from Four Oak Farms in Kleefeld, Man., could go back in time to give her 12-year-old self some advice, the elder Dueck would tell the younger one to keep exploring.

“Try different jobs, work at different places and see what speaks to you,” Dueck told Farms.com. “That way, when you do choose a path, you know what you like. Mess around with this stuff when you’re young so you can succeed in your career sooner.”

This piece of advice comes from Dueck’s lived experience.

Dueck didn’t grow up on a farm but as a young girl her parents moved to rural Manitoba to nurture her love of horses and animals.

No matter how big or small, if a creature was around, Dueck wanted to see it.

“I always had a horse addiction. I could sniff them out at any fair, petting zoo or parade,” she said. “I loved finding little frogs in the backyard. And I spent lots of time in my youth working at chicken barns or pig barns or dairy barns. I’ve always been fascinated with living things.”

This interest in living creatures prompted Dueck to attend the University of Manitoba where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in animal systems.

And it was at university where she met her now husband Marcus.

Paige knew about Marcus’s family farm before she knew him.

“I grew up about a mile away from him, but I had never met him,” she said. “I had asked to milk cows at his parents’ farm, but his dad said no because they didn’t need the help. I first saw Marcus when he and some other guys came to pick my brother up for his bachelor party. I saw him on my deck, and I said, ‘I like that guy.’ Him being a dairy farmer was a perk.”

Paige Dueck and kids
Paige Dueck and her daughters, Sutton and Brielle.

Marcus and Paige are the third generation on the family farm where they milk around 50 Brown Swiss cows and grow corn, soybeans and other crops on around 785 acres of land.

Paige worked for Dairy Farmers of Manitoba as a producer relations coordinator. She’s also an Equine Canada certified riding instructor.

The message she hopes to pass along to her young daughters, Brielle and Sutton, and other women considering a career in ag, is that you can have it all.

“If you want to be a farmer, business owner, mom and wife all in one, you can do that,” she said. “You can’t take your kid to the office, but you can take your kid to the field or the barn. Women are absolute powerhouses in this industry.”

Dueck identified multiple women she considers powerhouses and inspirations in the industry.

One is her best friend’s mom, Hilda.

Dueck spent lots of time at Hilda’s house growing up as Dueck worked on their farm. And she remembers Hilda’s energy.

“She had these super rough hands, split skin and was in the barn a ton,” she said. “But then she’d come in the house and make meals and welcome everyone. I thought it was so cool.”

Another woman in ag Dueck admires is Dianna Fraser,

The two met through a horse show that Fraser runs. Her grace, kindness and hard work sticks out to Dueck.

“She just does so much stuff that you can’t think one person can accomplish,” Dueck said. “She’s super organic, she has time for everyone. She’s such a pleasure to be around.”

A third woman Dueck wanted to highlight is her vet, Allison Hueging.

Dueck leaned on her friend for advice about juggling farming and motherhood.

“She’s got three kids, a dairy farm and a vet business and I always just think to myself, ‘look at her go,’” she said. “Talking to her about being a mom and a busy farm woman is awesome.”

Farms.com is highlighting multiple women in ag as International Women’s Day draws closer.

The other women who have participated are:

Jamie Tiralla, who traded in her career as a gemologist for one in agriculture in Calvert County, Md.,
Sally Parsonage, a Westman, Man. farmer who considers her sister one of her biggest inspirations, and
Jennifer Meyer, a cash crop and livestock producer from Wilton, N.D., who in 2020 became the first woman elected to the North Dakota Soybean Council.

Video: The Investment Opportunities of Industrial Hemp

The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.

To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.

Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.

It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”

Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.

“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.

As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.

He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.

“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”

On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.

Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”

Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.

First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.

Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.

The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.

The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.

The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.

Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity

Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.