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Fornwald family wins prestigious Farm Family of the Year Award

This year’s Farm Family of the Year Award recipients have enjoyed success in the agriculture sector through their farms, which are located outside of Lampman.

This year’s Farm Family of the Year Award recipients have enjoyed success in the agriculture sector through their farms, which are located outside of Lampman. 

The Fornwald family was presented with the prestigious award during the annual Estevan Farmer’s Appreciation Evening on Tuesday night at the Days Inn Plaza, in front of a sold out crowd.

Blake Fornwald, who gave a speech on behalf of the family, said he was looking forward to the evening.

“It’s going to be familiar faces and friends and people from the local area,” Blake said in an interview with the Mercury. “It won’t be people you don’t know. It’s going to be great.”

A rich history

Blake’s father, Henry Fornwald, started farming in 1944. Henry farmed with his own father, mostly growing wheat and oats. He bought his first parcel of land in 1949 and in 1952 he purchased the home section.

Henry married Marguerite Miller in 1955. They had 10 children, including six girls and four boys, who they raised on the farm. The homestead is 21 kilometres east and 1 1/2 kilometres south of Lampman. Three other farms are within an eight-kilometre radius of the homestead.

The four boys – Blake, Darrell, Dennis and Todd – continue to be active with farming in the Lampman area, and have about 16,000 acres between them. Each of them has a homestead of their own.

Three of Henry and Marguerite’s daughters also married farmers, and have remained near Lampman.

While the Fornwalds’ operations are crop-based now, livestock used to be found on Henry and Marguerite’s farm.

“Henry and Marguerite always had beef cattle, a few milking cows, chickens and a large garden to provide for their family,” stated the bio for the family. “Henry farmed many years with his brother until his own sons were old enough to become full-time farmers.”

The cattle and other livestock are gone, but cereal, oilseed and pulse crops are grown on the farms.

“We do zero-till farming,” said Blake. “We use all current pesticides and herbicides that are available, and GPS technology.”

Henry and Marguerite moved to Lampman in 1997. He grew a crop of his own for the final time in 2013.

In 2015, he sold the remainder of his land to family members.

 

Active in the community

Church and sports have been a big part of the family’s lives. Henry joined the Knights of Columbus in 1949 and is an honourary life member. While on the farm, Henry and Marguerite attended Maryland Roman Catholic Church. They were both active in the church, with Henry serving on the parish council and Marguerite on the ladies’ altar society.

They remain active members of the Lampman Roman Catholic Church.

Henry is also well-known in Lampman for the numerous hours he spent helping with the construction of the Lampman Community Complex, as well as renovations that have been done to the skating rink and the baseball diamonds. In 2009, Henry received the SaskEnergy Volunteer Champion Award. He and Marguerite also attended countless baseball and hockey games, watching their children and grandchildren play in many of them.

Blake estimates his father used to watch 100 games in a winter when the children and grandchildren were active in hockey.

Henry played ball when he was young, and always enjoyed seeing his children to play sports.

“If you were going to a concert in Regina, he’d say ‘Maybe you don’t need to go,’ but if it was a hockey game in Saskatoon, he would put gas in the car for us,” said Blake.

From Henry’s perspective, sports are a great pastime and they help young people mature, Blake said. And watching sports and being active in the community have always been a big part of their lives.

“When you live in a small community, you learn that you have to contribute in order for your community to survive,” said Blake. “Lampman is no different than other surrounding communities. We’ve gone through struggles of people moving away, and sometimes the facilities aren’t kept up.”

Henry and Marguerite celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2015, and the following year, Henry celebrated his 90th birthday. He and Marguerite currently have 28 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

 

Proud of family roots

Blake said he entered the agriculture sector for a career because his father was a farmer. Henry encouraged the children to farm, but he didn’t force them into the industry.

“He helped us get started,” said Blake. “It’s a tough industry to be in, and without that kind of guidance and that kind of help from a parent, it’s not the kind of industry that you can just step into and buy equipment and land and get started. You really need someone to help you financially, and with advice.”

Farming is a tough business to get into, so it’s good to have that kind of support.

It’s also been rewarding to keep the farm in the family. When Henry started, he was at the ground level, with a few quarters of land, but he expanded the operation and added buildings.

And now Blake is excited to see the farming moving to the next generation.

“If you were to sell out and retire and move away, someone else owns that,” said Blake.

 

“It’s like running your own business”

 Blake said agriculture allows farmers to be their own boss. They get to decide what they want to do each day.

“Whether you succeed or fail, it falls back on you,” said Blake. “It’s like running your own business. You have to do it yourself, but you have to rely on others to make it work, and you have to work with the public to buy your products and sell your products.”

There’s also a great feeling in owning your own land, working on that land and operating your own equipment.

“And if you can have your family involved in the operation, that’s just another bonus as well,” said Blake. “I have three sons who are farming, either full-time or part-time.”

For those who are looking to be their own boss, work on the land and have pride in what they do, farming is a great way to do it.

Technology has become more important, and the farms have become larger.

Blake noted that when Henry started farming, it would take 10 years for a big change in technology to occur. Now it takes two or three years for equipment to become outdated.

“Combines are tractors are totally different,” said Blake. “We have GPS. We have computers. All of society has changed. Smart phones are integrated into our farm. When you look at a new vehicle, at the technology you can have, with Wi-Fi in your pickup truck.

“Farming is the same as the rest of the world. It’s changing so fast. It’s scary to think about where we’ll be five years from now, when it took 20 years to get one step, and five years from now, we’ll be two steps ahead of where we are now.”

It’s exciting for those willing to embrace it, but for those who are afraid of change and technology, they’re going to be left behind, he said.

Blake said he is proud of his parents and their accomplishments in farming, and he views the Farm Family of the Year Award as a testament to their success.