|
 |
The Red River Exhibition Association has presented a Farm Family of the Year award since 1966. This tradition, both within the association and also the Manitoba agriculture community, is recognized as a significant accomplishment and honour.
The award is designed to promote awareness of the importance of the agriculture industry in Manitoba and highlight farm families which are at the root of the industry. The Red River Exhibition Association is an Agricultural Society with a mandate and mission to promote agriculture and agribusiness in Manitoba.
The Red River Exhibition Association (RREX) today announced that the Federowich family of Ashville, Manitoba, has been selected as their 2008 Farm Family of the Year.
The Federowich family joins an elite group of more than 40 other farm families who have been recognized by the RREX since the Farm Family of the Year award was established in 1966. The purpose of this annual award is to profile not only the diversity of primary agriculture in Manitoba but also the traditional values of farm families who have contributed to the success and resilience of prairie agriculture and rural communities.
Joe and Delores Federowich, along with their adult son Chris, operate a 10,000 acre grain and special crops farm in the Ashville area of Manitoba’s Parkland region. Originally a crops and livestock operation, the Federowich family sold their 450 cow-calf enterprise in 2004. Their crop mix in 2008 includes approximately 1150 acres of spring wheat, 1550 acres of winter wheat, 5400 acres of canola, and about 400 acres each of borage and hemp. Their fourth generation farm also includes some 2000 acres of improved and unimproved pasture. The Federowich family also has a 22,000 tree Sea Buckthorn orchard. The farm enterprise, consisting of both owned and rented land, has three full time employees in the summer and one in the winter.
In 1996, the same year son Chris became an active partner in the farm operation, the Federowich family began moving from minimum tillage to zero-till. Since 1999, their farm has been a zero-till farming operation. The Inter-Mountain Conservation District named Federowich Farms the Environmental Family Farm of the Year in 1998. During its pilot phase, Joe was one of the first farmers in the region to develop an environmental farm plan.
Joe and Delores have also been an active member in their industry and his community. Delores was active in developing the safety guidelines for on-farm work safety protocols. From 1975 to 1978, Joe was an elected director of United Grain Growers. As pedigree seed producers specializing in varieties of hemp, Federowich Farms is a member of the Canadian Seed Growers Association. One of the first hemp growers in the area since it was licensed for production in 1998 by Health Canada, Joe has been a leader and driving force in promoting the industrial use of the crop in Manitoba. He was also the founding chairperson of Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op Ltd. The Co-op’s support for a hemp breeding program resulted in the development of Alyssa, the first hemp variety adapted to Manitoba conditions. It was licensed for commercial production in 2004. Along with other Co-op members, Joe is currently working to raise the necessary capital to establish a hemp processing facility in the Dauphin area.
Until it closed, Joe and Delores were active supporters of the Ashville Community Centre. The family was involved in the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides when their children were young. Joe and Delores also have a daughter Tricia. She and her husband, Curtis Caruk, and their children (Kadence, 4, Teya, 1, and third one on the way) live in the Dugald area. They are not involved in the Federowich farm enterprise.
Besides being a community leader and an industry authority on hemp production and marketing, Joe is also an innovator. After considerable thought and experimentation, he invented and patented an adaptation to his CASE IH rotary combine to improve the harvesting of hemp.
The Federowich farmyard is neat and well landscaped. It is a fine example of a modern, productive and prosperous Manitoba farm operated by a friendly, community-minded farm family.
– Nominated by the Dauphin Agricultural Society.
Red River Exhibition Association Contact: kevin.clifford@redriverex.com
Kevin Clifford Ph: 204-888-6990 / Cellular: 204-791-6814
Farm Family of the Year Committee Contact: mdeveson@mts.net
Morris Deveson Ph: 204-256-7519
Farm Family of the Year Contact: Jfed@mts.net
Joe Federowich Ph. 204-548-2289 (early AM) / Cellular: 204-638-2448
Farm Family of the Year – Farm Directions:
West of Dauphin, 13km on Highway # 5 & #10 to Ashville Junction. From Ashville Junction 10km north on Highway #10 on the way to Swan River, East 1.5km. Name sign on north side of the road. ** Landmarks on Highway #10:
- Saskatoon orchard on west side before the turnoff
- Red Hip Roof Barn just past intersection.
| Manitoba Farm Families Of The Year |
| Year |
Name |
City |
| 1966 |
E. Greenslade |
Portage La Prairie |
| 1967 |
Roy Bailey |
Carberry |
| 1968 |
John Murta |
Graysville |
| 1969 |
Jack Wilton |
Carman |
| 1970 |
Art Rampton |
Dauphin |
| 1971 |
Frank Leggat |
Birtle |
| 1972 |
Eldon Mceachern |
Carman |
| 1973 |
Clifford Lundman |
Erickson |
| 1974 |
Norman Edie |
Dugald |
| 1975 |
Lorne Parker |
Ste. Agathe |
| 1976 |
Anthony Chorney |
East Selkirk |
| 1977 |
R. Harry Mcknight |
Roland |
| 1978 |
Don Mitchell |
Douglas |
| 1979 |
Albert Vielfaure |
Labroquerie |
| 1980 |
Gordon Church |
Killarney |
| 1981 |
Ed J. Connery |
Portage La Prairie |
| 1982 |
Harold H. Kletke |
Teulon |
| 1983 |
Clare E. Geddes |
Pilot Mound |
| 1984 |
Clarence Baker |
Beausejour |
| 1985 |
Lloyd & Betty Bertram |
Swan River |
| 1986 |
Henk & Yvonne Jonk |
Bruxelles |
| 1987 |
Bill & Bertha Vaags |
Dugald |
| 1988 |
Wenzel & Marlen Preun |
Selkirk |
| 1989 |
Paul & Dorothy Born |
Kleefeld |
| 1990 |
Stan & Alex Charison |
Gunton |
| 1991 |
Owen & Anna Mae Mcauley |
Mcauley |
| 1992 |
Lang & Lorraine Musgrave |
Mccreary |
| 1993 |
Les & Kathleen Forrester |
Emerson |
| 1994 |
Ron & Pat Rutherford |
Melita |
| 1995 |
Emmanuel & Susan Van De Velde |
Mariapolis |
| 1996 |
Ian & Leslie Wishart |
Portage La Prairie |
| 1997 |
Henry & Laura, Tony & Kim Holtmann |
Rosser |
| 1998 |
Bruce & Carol Dalgarno |
Newdale |
| 1999 |
Rask & Carol Klagenberg |
Selkirk |
| 2000 |
David & Gladys Gislason |
Arborg |
| 2001 |
Innes and Joan Hodson |
Virden |
| 2002 |
Weldon, Murray and Donna Newton |
Neepawa |
| 2003 |
Ron and Wanda Jefferies |
Glenboro |
| 2004 |
Nick and Dorothy Heide |
Winkler |
| 2005 |
Neil and Rosalie Van Ryssel |
Oakbank |
| 2006 |
The Rodgers Family |
MacGregor |
| 2007 |
The Boulanger Family |
Hartney |
| 2008 |
The Federowich Family |
Ashville |
|
|
Farm Family for 2008