The scene ends in horror. No matter how many times I replay. Telling the farming community and anyone else who would listen that “I, Toban Dyck, am going organic” is like saying, “thanks for letting me spend a couple years on the family farm; now I’m going to plunge it into bankruptcy,” while wearing a […] Read more
Musing on going organic
An email from a long-time organic farmer pushes Toban Dyck to wonder if he should try it too
Understanding farm water issues
Water: it’s necessary for life. But add the word “drainage” and it can also start fights
Corn prices. Why am I getting emails with those words in the subject line? Why does Gmail’s spam filter let that slip by? I’ve been telling people for a couple years now that I farm. To border guards and others who’d trust or like me more if I worked with my hands, I am a […] Read more
Jumping in with both feet
After spending time on the farm working with his father, Toban Dyck is renting land of his own
This is it. The thing that for years, decades, a quarter of a lifetime, I believed I couldn’t and wouldn’t do is about to become as real as the chair I’m sitting on, or a punch in the face. I trust this won’t hurt as much, but I’m sure I’ll feel it. I will be […] Read more
We swathed our wheat. Would we do it again?
Toban Dyck’s crop went from “the crop that could have been” to… well, the crop it was
We swathed our wheat. Because why not. Because there’s nothing like picking up a dry swath with a powerful combine. Because we didn’t want to desiccate. But swathing turned out to be a mistake. We had no idea our wheat would sprout. How could we have? And the worst thing is there’s no guarantee it […] Read more
Taking notes makes farming easier
For someone that hasn’t been farming long, there are lots of things to remember. Notes can help
I play the fool sometimes, to illustrate the simpler yet important points of farming that an expert may no longer consider. And I’m guessing some of you, the ones who didn’t grow up with smartphones and GPS, need constant reminders of the potential efficiencies clipped to your belts. It was supposed to be too cold. […] Read more
Winter research for summer crops
Toban Dyck had good intentions of taking advantage of the long Manitoba winter to study up and be ready for the summer growing season
Sorcery. It must be. That’s the best explanation I can muster for how a crop grows. How a seed senses moisture, germinates, takes what it needs from the earth surrounding it, and knows which direction it needs to grow is more complicated (or magical) a process than most brains can fully comprehend. An amusing admittance, […] Read more
The middle view on GMO crops
Fresh from the city, Toban Dyck looks at GMOs as a farmer
I don’t know enough about the issue to strip it down to its bones. Few do, it seems. But I do understand what sides, polarities, and knee-jerk reactions are. I’ve lived among those who equate genetically modifying anything to murder — murder committed by someone who hates the earth and loves Monsanto. These people walk […] Read more
Lessons learned the hard way
His first summer back on the farm, Toban Dyck’s learned a number of lessons from hands-on experience
The headlands always take longer than expected, but I finished in time for the evening concert we had tickets for. I let the tractor idle for a few minutes to cool it down before turning the key. And then it was over. The 2013 farming season is done. Our garden has been put to bed, […] Read moreFirst harvest in the bag
I engaged in one of the ‘Sexiest activities in the world,’” said the man sitting in the rear passenger side. “I wish there was a way to bottle that.” He was talking about combining, and the four of us were on our way to Big Iron in Fargo, North Dakota. There’s too much residue from […] Read more
First harvest in the bag
I engaged in one of the ‘Sexiest activities in the world,’” said the man sitting in the rear passenger side. “I wish there was a way to bottle that.” He was talking about combining, and the four of us were on our way to Big Iron in Fargo, North Dakota. There’s too much residue from […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
