Lethbridge, AB Gemstone Cattle Company of Gem, Alberta and Polyculture Plante 1987 Inc of Saint-Pétronille,QC were chosen as National Winners from seven regional farms at Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Program’s national event held in Lethbridge, AB Nov 27- Dec 1, 2024.
At the age of 18, Daniel rented his first quarter section of irrigated land. After obtaining his Diploma in Animal Science, he made his first purchase of irrigated land and joined his dad and uncle in their 4th generation grain & beef farm at Gem, AB.
In 2013, brother Lorin left the oil & gas industry to join the farm and Gemstone Cattle Company started implementing regenerative agriculture practices. By introducing rotational grazing, poly-cropping for silage and winter grazing they saw their soils improve. These new practices also helped produce nutrient dense forages which they utilized to finish their beef cattle.
Daniel & Lorin began a beef marketing business in 2018 known as “Gemstone Grass Fed Beef”. They now market their beef on-line and at their butcher shop/food kiosk at the Calgary’s Farmers Market. Their younger brother Barry also joined the farm. The three Doerksen Brothers were honoured to be part of Avenues Magazine’s, Top 40 Under 40, Class of 2023.
Simon Plante began working on the family farm at a young age and was the sales manager at 18 of the family farm-Polyculture Plante 1987 Inc, a horticulture business located in Sainte- Pétronille, QC.
Upon taking ownership in 2021, he felt being the boss allowed him to implement his vision and strategies while making people happy by filling a basic need- food. They now produce strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, squash, pumpkins and maple products sold on-farm at Marché Plante.
They are looking at recycling irrigation water to reduce water and fertilizer usage. With a large capital investment, they started growing berries above ground, making it easier for their pickers, helping maximize land use, and producing less waste and better berry quality.
Simon’s wife, Alison Blouin, joined the farm as operational and HR manager in 2021. She works closely with the 100+ foreign workers to ensure they are treated like family. Her work includes travelling and living with the workers to understand their culture.
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Past-President Danny Penner had this to say about the National Event. “The national COYF event in Lethbridge Alberta was a great success. The honourees for 2024 will make a fantastic addition to the national alumni with many great years of celebrating agriculture in their future. We are so proud of the winners, Gemstone Cattle Company’s Doerksen Brothers and Polyculture Plante Inc 1987’s Simon Plante & Alison Blouin. They will be fantastic ambassadors for agriculture. The Alberta host committee were successful in creating an event to help us celebrate excellence in agriculture in every way possible.”
Every year this event brings recognition to outstanding farmers in Canada between 18 and 39 years of age who have exemplified excellence in their profession while fostering better urban-rural relations. The winners were chosen from seven regional finalists, including the following honourees from the other five regions:
BC- Aubyn & Tristan Banwell- Spray Creek Ranch-Lillooet
AB- Lorin & Daniel Doerksen- Gemstone Cattle Company- Gem
SK- Erika & Cyle Stewart- Pine Ranch Ltd.- Morse
MB- Paige & Marcus Dueck- Four Oak Farms- Kleefeld
ON- DJ Wassenaar & Matt Bergman- Haybury Farms Inc- Jarvis
QC- Alison Blouin & Simon Plante – Polyculture Plante 1987 Inc- Sainte- Pétronille
AT- Geena Luckett- Luckett Farms Ltd- Wallbrook, NS
The stories the finalists shared throughout the week exemplified their passion and love for agriculture.
Celebrating 44 years, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program is an annual competition to recognize farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession and promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture. Open to participants 18 to 39 years of age, making the majority of income from agriculture, participants are selected from seven regions across Canada, with two national winners chosen each year. The program partner is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The program is sponsored nationally by CIBC, John Deere, Bayer, Sollio Agriculture, CN and Meridian Manufacturing; our media sponsors, Glacier FarmMedia and WS, Video sponsor- Bamboo Shoots and supported nationally by BDO.
Source : Oyfcanada