The two most western regional nominees won the hearts and scores of judges in late November to be named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF) for 2023.
Hopcott Farms, a beef and cranberry operation from Pitt Meadows, B.C., and Stamp Seeds, producers of pedigree seed from Enchant, Alta., were named the national competition winners at the awards ceremonies in Laval, Que. — selected from a field of seven diverse farming operations from across Canada all vying for the award.
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The COYF program has been recognizing the achievements of young Canadian farmers for 43 years.
“The judges always have a difficult task of selecting just two winners, but it seems to be more difficult each year as the production and management skills among these young producers reaches a new level,” says Danny Penner, COYF president, who along with his wife Anita are Manitoba OYF alumni after being named regional winners in 1997.
“We have seen the level of management skills among regional nominees grow and become more refined as they represent ever increasingly diversified farming operations. They all rise to the challenge of applying risk management strategies to these farm enterprises that all require significant capital investment.
“The quality of these regional honourees is incredible. It becomes a challenge for the COYF organization itself to keep pace, keep current with the honouree skill level.”
Penner says while there is a perception that the national award is presented annually to young farmers representing Eastern and Western Canada, the reality is that come voting time, the award is presented to the highest-scoring farm presentations regardless of their location, so having two winners from the same part of Canada has happened several times over the years.
The Alberta winners
Greg Stamp, who along with his wife Sarah are the second generation on the family pedigree seed farm at Enchant, about 80 km north of Lethbridge, says they were surprised and honoured to be selected as one of the national winners.
“It was certainly a whirlwind few days as we were hosted and treated so well by the Quebec OYF organizing committee,” says Stamp. “It is amazing how we as a group of seven families, quickly develop a connection and friendship.
“There is such a diversity of farm enterprises from beef and cranberry production on one side of the country, to potatoes on the other side, to grain, poultry, hog and veal production in between. As a group, some farms have seven years of experience while others have 18 years. Over those few days we become a very tight group and we begin learning from each other. We came home with new ideas and thinking about areas where we can improve our management skills.”
What began as a partnership with Greg’s parents, in 2006, has become three separate operations run by Greg and his brothers Nathan and Matthew. The operations include Stamp Seeds (retail pedigreed seed), Stamp Farms (production of pedigreed seed for retail and contracts) and Flourish Farms (crop land). Pedigreed seed is produced on 7,000 acres, of which 5,000 acres are under irrigation and 2,000 are dryland-farmed.
In the beginning, custom work helped cash flow. Growing contract seed for others allowed Greg to expand the retail seed business and build a customer base. Although minimum till was being practiced on the farm, they created management zones and now use benchmark soil sampling to better manage their fertility. On-farm field days, newsletters and social media help to build awareness of the varieties produced. Sarah has been instrumental in developing management and succession plans to allow all the families to farm together.
Greg’s parents, Richard and Marian, were the first generation, beginning with commercial crop production in 1979 and then switching to pedigreed seed production in 1984. When Greg and Sarah decided to join the operation in the early 2000s the farm was about 500 acres and had a limited customer base. The farm needed to expand to accommodate another family member.
“Those first eight years were tough; it was hard to get things moving in the right direction,” Greg says. They needed to grow the land base, but land was expensive and they had limited equity, so banks were reluctant to loan money. Crop prices were down, there were a few seasons of poor weather for crop production, cash flow was limited and machinery needed to be upgraded.
“There were a few times we said to ourselves ‘What are we doing here?’” says Greg. “But at the same we decided we’ve come this far, we’ll just keep going. We just picked away at growing the business and eventually things started to come together.”
Those tough years also taught important lessons about being efficient as possible and having discipline — new is nice, but if you can’t afford it, make do with what you have.
As a side note, Greg and Sarah Stamp are second-generation farmers, but also the second generation of Stamps to win OYF honours. Greg’s parents, Rick and Marian Stamp, were national winners in 1998.
Other generational winners include Frank and Elma Pauls, who were named B.C. regional honourees in 1990, followed by son Brian and Jewel Pauls in 2016. And from Atlantic Canada, Charles and Doris Keddy were named national winners in 1992, followed by son Philip and Katie Keddy being named Atlantic regional winners in 2021.
B.C. award winners
And for Hopcott Farms of Pitt Meadows, B.C. the COYF experience “was way more than we expected,” says Travis Hopcott, who along with his brother Brad accepted the national award.
“We went there knowing it would be a great opportunity to meet and network with some of the best growers from across Canada,” says Travis. “And we did, we met some pretty amazing people.
“But on the business side, even though we were one of the finalists, we came home with a to-do list much longer than when we left. Just in those few days in Quebec we saw what other farms were doing and it showed us where we could make improvements here, or where we could do a better job there. I’m sure there will be ongoing relationship among the nominees, it showed us there is always room for improvement.”
For the third-generation Hopcott Farms, what began as a dairy farm started by their grandfather in 1932 is now a 1,000-head beef feedlot with forage production, an on-farm abattoir, a 72-acre cranberry farm and a 17,000-square foot retail store and wedding venue.
Brad is in charge of the beef; Travis oversees the cranberries; their sister Jennifer runs the retail and wedding venue. Recently the farm has renovated 20 per cent of its cranberry acres, introducing new varieties to double production. A water reservoir system allows the 30 million gallons of water to be recycled in the cranberry bogs during the harvest season.
To allow for full integration of the beef operation, a $5 million abattoir was added to the operation in 2022. Waste-tissue composting units allow for the integration of animal waste back into the forage fields. Having received support through the management transition, the brothers hope to return the favour and mentor future B.C. farmers.
Tough competition
The other five exceptional farm operations involved in the national awards competition for 2023 included:
- Rémi Taillon and Sophie Brodeur, of Ferme Réso, veal and cash crop producers at Sainte-Dominque, Que.;
- Stewart Skinner and Jessica Kelly of Imani Farms Ltd., niche market pork producers from Listowel, Ont.;
- Jake and Sarah Leguee of Leguee Farms Ltd., grain, oilseed and pulse crop producers from Weyburn, Sask.;
- Harley and Brooklyn Siemens, of Siemens Farms, egg producers at Rosenort, Man.; and
- Marijke Oudshoon and Willem van de Wetering of Spud Isle Farms, potato growers from Morell, P.E.I.
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.
For more information on the COYF program and nomination process, contact Carla Kaeding, program manager, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers, at 306-896-7833 or by email, or visit the program website.
