聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The Prairie Flavours Ranch, owned and operated by Nathan and Megan Maier, welcomed 13 guests for a one-day Open Gate Learning workshop on September 28.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Blaine Hjertas, a holistic management professional certified educator, was a special guest
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "The day was beautiful and the people were great," said Hjertas.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "We had 13 guests who attended from Yorkton and the local area," he said.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The day started out with Hjertas introducing what holistic management means. Al Foster, a forage specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, gave a talk about grazing principles.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽"We went on to the pasture and moved cattle. It鈥檚 a nice walk with many questions asked and species identified," Hjertas said. "We returned to the yard for a delicious meal served by our hosts. The entire meal was grown on their farm.鈥�
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 In the afternoon, the Assiniboine Watershed group talked about the programs and services available to producers in the area, he said. Megan and Nathan spoke about how they made the decision to come to the farm.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥淣athan is from Ontario and not from a farm,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey talked about the financial challenges of operating a small farm and how they make decisions with their family in mind.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥淲e toured their poultry operation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey produce 4,000 broilers annually plus 100 turkeys and have 300 laying hens all on an outdoor system.鈥� 聽聽聽聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "Hjertas dug out several soil plugs and talked about healthy soil and how carbon is sequestered into the soil," said Megan Maier.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kathleen Smith, Cameron Hanson-Preece and Jesse Nielson, representatives from the Assiniboine Watershed Stewardship Association gave a presentation on the Canada-Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Program regarding聽 the cost-sharing incentives available to eligible producers for agricultural-related projects.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "We discussed the funding program side and other program funding available," said Hansen-Preece.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 "The group returned to the yard for another round of questions and answers, Hjertas said, adding that at the conclusion, many of those who attended had said that it was one of the best field days they had attended.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 It was a very positive, young and energized group, he said. The people from the Ministry and the Watershed Association were impressed with the holistic management program and what it had to offer.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥淗opefully more opportunities will occur to work together in the future as a result of this day," said Hjertas.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The workshop was a great day with a lot of information shared," said Megan Maier.
