Nestled in the scenic valleys of the Peace River region of Alberta, Birch Hills Hutterite Colony is a living example of the amazing things made possible by teamwork. The community members, unified both in faith and in commitment to each other, work diligently to ensure that every person’s efforts contribute to the health and happiness of the colony. For instance, Lenard Walters, the farm manager at B Hills, may be the decision-maker for the colony’s 21,000-acre operation, but those decisions are never about him – they’re about what’s best for B Hills.

As it goes with colonies like B Hills, people fall into their roles in the community based on the skills they take to when they’re young. For some, it may be raising livestock. For others, it may be leatherworking or woodworking. For Lenard, it’s always been the love of cropping.

“It’s rewarding, because you accomplish something every year,” Lenard says, “You put a little seed in the ground, a little canola seed, and what becomes of it – well, to me, it’s still amazing.”

In an era when much of the world seems under pressure to keep up appearances and focus on the self, it’s distinctly refreshing to observe a community like Lenard’s – where pride stems from hard work, long-term commitment and achieving a shared goal that benefits the many, not just the few.

“At harvest time, that’s when you reap your reward, and I can’t put it in words how good that feels,” says Lenard, “And toward the end, when it’s all safe in the bin, that’s even a better feeling.”

Getting there is something Lenard recognizes wouldn’t be possible for him to do alone, or even with just the others working in the fields alongside him. It’s also the men keeping up the equipment in the community shop, it’s the women cooking meals and minding the garden – it’s everyone. Jason Casselman,

His days include research, strategic planning, market analysis, genetics, chemistry and lots of hard work. When Lenard chooses to grow canola, he chooses DEKALB® brand seed.

Visit DEKALB.CA for more info or call 1-84-GO-DEKALB

INTRODUCINGB HILLS FARMING CO LTD.

LENARD WALTERS

B HILLS FARMING CO LTD.

WANHAM, AB

Monsanto Company is a member of Excellence Through Stewardship® (ETS). Monsanto products are commercialized in accordance with ETS Product Launch Stewardship Guidance, and in compliance with Monsanto’s Policy for Commercialization of Biotechnology-Derived Plant Products in Commodity Crops. These products have been approved for import into key export markets with functioning regulatory systems. Any crop or material produced from these products can only be exported to, or used, processed or sold in countries where all necessary regulatory approvals have been granted. It is a violation of national and international law to move material containing biotech traits across boundaries into nations where import is not permitted. Growers should talk to their grain handler or product purchaser to confirm their buying position for these products. Excellence Through Stewardship® is a registered trademark of Excellence Through Stewardship.Performance may vary from location to location and from year to year, as local growing, soil and weather conditions may vary. Growers should evaluate data from multiple locations and years whenever possible and should consider the impacts of these conditions on the grower’s fields. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup Ready® technology contains genes that confer tolerance to glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup® brand agricultural herbicides. Agricultural herbicides containing glyphosate will kill crops that are not tolerant to glyphosate. DEKALB and Design®, DEKALB®, Genuity®, Real Farm Rewards™, Roundup Ready® and Roundup® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group, Monsanto Canada ULC licensee. ©2018 Bayer Group. All Rights Reserved.

” “ At harvest time, that’s

when you reap your reward, and I can’t put it in words how good that feels.

Nestled in the scenic valleys of the Peace River region of Alberta, Birch Hills Hutterite Colony is a living example of the amazing things made possible by teamwork. The community members, unified both in faith and in commitment to each other, work diligently to ensure that every person’s efforts contribute to the health and happiness of the colony. For instance, Lenard Walters, the farm manager at B Hills, may be the decision-maker for the colony’s 21,000-acre operation, but those decisions are never about him – they’re about what’s best for B Hills.

As it goes with colonies like B Hills, people fall into their roles in the community based on the skills they take to when they’re young. For some, it may be raising livestock. For others, it may be leatherworking or woodworking. For Lenard, it’s always been the love of cropping.

“It’s rewarding, because you accomplish something every year,” Lenard says, “You put a little seed in the ground, a little canola seed, and what becomes of it – well, to me, it’s still amazing.”

In an era when much of the world seems under pressure to keep up appearances and focus on the self, it’s distinctly refreshing to observe a community like Lenard’s – where pride stems from hard work, long-term commitment and achieving a shared goal that benefits the many, not just the few.

“At harvest time, that’s when you reap your reward, and I can’t put it in words how good that feels,” says Lenard, “And toward the end, when it’s all safe in the bin, that’s even a better feeling.”

Getting there is something Lenard recognizes wouldn’t be possible for him to do alone, or even with just the others working in the fields alongside him. It’s also the men keeping up the equipment in the community shop, it’s the women cooking meals and minding the garden – it’s everyone. Jason Casselman,

DEKALB® Territory Account Manager for Fairview, feels privileged to count himself as part of that team.

“It’s really a pleasure to be able to work with guys like Lenard,” says Jason, “When I see the success of the operation and how much of it is because of guys like Lenard, that’s really pretty impressive.”

Lenard has been working with Jason for over ten years now, and the relationship has been valuable for both of them.

“I trust Jason, bigtime,” Lenard says, “Jason has helped us out so many times, there’s no question about it.”

Today, B Hills is growing DEKALB® 75-45 RR canola for the fourth year running – but it’s not their first DEKALB® canola hybrid by a long shot.

“We’ve grown DEKALB® canola for as long as it’s been out here,” Lenard says, “We’ve had great luck with the DEKALB® 75-45 RR canola – it’s short straw, all pods,

and even last year when we mudded it in, it still averaged 40 bu./ac.”

For Jason, the relationship is grounded in mutual respect and their shared love of farming.

“There’s so many things going on in the farm, and as a farm manager, canola seed is just a small part of that,” says Jason, “These guys have so much they have to worry about, so we try to help them out and make that part easy.”

Keep an eye out for part two of Lenard’s story, coming next issue, or read it online at DEKALB.ca/bhillsfarming

We thank Lenard for choosing DEKALB® brand seed for their farm and wish his family and community a safe and successful harvest this year and for many years to come. Check out the results of farmer-managed Market Development trials on DEKALB.ca this fall.

INTRODUCINGB HILLS FARMING CO LTD.

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LENARD WALTERS TAKES A BUSINESS CALL WHILE SCOUTING HIS CANOLA CROP.

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