YOUNG FARMERS HONOURED
Award recognizes innovation
After experiencing the worst drought of their careers, Tannis and Derek Axten welcomed the distraction — provincial and national recognition for their work as young Saskatchewan farmers.
“We had an awful year here,” said Derek. “That part of the deal this year wasn’t very much fun. This ... gave us something else to focus on.”
The young couple from Minton were named Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017 in June and went on to win the national title earlier this month.
In its 37th year, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers program is an annual competition to recognize farmers between the ages of 18 and 39 for excellence in their field and contributions to agriculture.
Both from farming backgrounds, Tannis and Derek began farming together in 2002 after taking over Derek’s parents 2,430-hectare farm near Minton, which is about 145 kilometres south of Regina. They plant 15 different crops, including fava beans, chickpeas, mustard, flax and sunflowers.
“The main thing that makes it unique is our focus on soil health,” said Tannis. “We focused on that and learned the healthier our soil is, the better it’ll retain moisture.”
With a bachelor of education, majoring in biology, from the University of Regina under her belt, Tannis began looking closely at the biology of their soil in a couple of years ago. What she found was soil that had been damaged from years of tillage and high input.
Through a combination of intercropping (seeding one or more crops together), cover crops (a crop planted mainly to manage things such as soil erosion and fertility), control traffic farming (which minimizes soil compaction) and composting, the couple is working to restore the biology of their soil.
Tannis said nothing they are doing is new, but using all the techniques in combination is what sets their farm apart from many.
“There (are) some that intercrop and there’s some that compost,” she said, “don’t know too many that have put all of these things together yet.”
For Derek, the focus on soil health is the future of farming.
“If you look back in history, how many civilizations have risen and fallen?” he said. “If you look at what really happened, a lot of it was because of their agriculture.”
“Agriculture collapsed and the whole thing fell apart,” said Derek. “We’re smart enough and have the technology and the knowledge to look at history and maybe don’t let that happen.”
The farm itself has a history to look back on, having been started by Derek’s grandfather when he emigrated from England in 1909.
Derek’s father, Herb Axten, began working with Derek’s grandfather as a teenager. He remembers the way farming practices destroyed farmland back in the ’50s and ’60s. He says Derek and Tannis are on the right path to restoring those nutrients and sharing their knowledge with others.
“It’s extremely humbling to know that your son is going to be as successful as you always dreamed he could be,” said Herb.
The couple has been sharing farming techniques with others over the last few years, but both said gaining this recognition has shone a light on their work and prompted many phone calls and emails from others in the industry.
Playing to their strengths has also helped make their farm a success.
“He knows more about the farming aspect and I’ve been really focusing on the biology aspect,” said Tannis. “Together it works really well and it makes it fun for us.”
Want your say on the news? Send us a letter at letters@ leaderpost.com.