Redtail Farms—
A Successful Family Transition BY KELLY SIDORYK
I
an Greibel and Dana Blume are third generation farmers, with the view towards developing the farm for the seventh generation. That is the long vision they take on the central Alberta operation of a mix of rejuvenated grasslands and wetlands, with their two young sons, Cohen, 4, and Fynn, 2. Ian’s parents, Richard Greibel and Kathleen Charpentier, first took Holistic Management training in the mid 1990s. Ian has a clear memory of a goal setting session with Don Campbell when he was about 12. In addition, he and his siblings grew up attending many Holistic Management events. “That (exposure) has really served me well,” Ian says. The impact of Holistic Management was further felt when his father Richard passed away in 2014. He needed to step up as his dad was gone and his mom literally stepped out and turned the reins over. It was a huge learning curve, which Ian noted was “a blessing and a curse. I was literally given a farm that I had grown up on but had been away from for 10 years pursuing a carpentry career. We made mistakes but had a lot of successes too,” says Ian. Don Campbell again helped them through the transition process not long after Richard had passed away. Dana says “It was so valuable to have that neutral third party involved to focus on the people side and communication. He made sure that everyone was involved, all Ian’s siblings and their spouses, and were able to express their expectations.” Once a clear vision had been created, they then went to Merle Good, from Alberta, for the technical and financial piece. “We realized to be successful on this scale we need to be highly creative and have the appropriate amount of diversity,” Ian says. Now he and his wife Dana and their two young children have a clear vision of the future they are trying to create. They consider themselves to be perennial farming for what the landscape wants to be. This year they are building a food forest working with nature as it progresses to a climax ecosystem. “The annual food production model is hard to sustain so we are looking at building this around the principles of a forest.” There are a wide variety of trees and shrubs, including many fruit producers. Incorporating grazing livestock is another component, along
with inclusion of pollinators and native grasses and flowers. Two of the main enterprises are grassfed beef and pork. Last year they decided to double their grassfed production from around 20 animals to 40. Moving the meat was a big challenge, but it pushed them to step up their marketing game. Some great things came from the challenge, including a collaboration with a restaurant, Chartier in Beaumont, Alberta, about two and a half hours away from the farm. “The restaurant has been amazing to work with and is committed to using the whole animal. The menu changes and every week they feature a different
folks to learn and have a great experience with live music and more local produce, including a brewery. The couple also sees these events as a way to strengthen community where neighbors can also come and enjoy. With the larger centers being at least two and a half hours away, Redtail is building a campsite. “We want to make coming to our place worth a five- to six-hour drive,” says Ian. Ian and Dana have broad marketing strategies with the bigger picture in mind, including revitalizing community and farm diversity. To enhance their marketing, they developed a four-part video series of life on the
The Greibel-Blume Family cut, even heart,” Ian explains. Their hope is the culinary world can feature and showcase not only the whole animal but also the grassfed aspect. Another participating restaurant is Woodwork in downtown Edmonton. A goal of the couple has been to run a one herd system and they are excited about being able to do that for the coming growing year. They only retained steers for the meat program which will run with the main herd until later in the grazing season, to then meet the differing nutritional requirements. The simplicity appeals to them. The grazing plan is based on a 90-day recovery, with approximately two-day moves. “We move fairly quickly and try to take a 40% graze,” says Ian. Farm tourism has been another way to expand their scope. Last year they hosted two events where the chefs came to the farm. They want to provide an opportunity for the urban
farm based on the seasons. “New farmers have to share their story. That may mean leaving the farm and talking to people, stepping out of the usual comfort zone,” Ian adds. Another enterprise was developed by mom, Kathleen, when she moved out of the main farm house to allow Ian and Dana and their children to move in. A new building was erected with a yoga studio on the main floor and living quarters above. She conducts numerous yoga classes and retreats focusing on health and wellness. A number of years ago an on-farm processing facility was built and it has been revitalized with the return of Ian’s sister and her new husband, who happens to be a Scottish butcher. Value adding to their production excites Ian and there are more opportunities to explore with his sister, Tess, who is also a cheesemaker. Redtail Farms is also part of another new venture, The Prairie Farm Project, based on CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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