2 minute read
Deryk Sanford Speaks on How to Have a Good Harvest
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Deryk Sanford has a grain farm at Lavoy. When asked, Deryk admitted that he owns and farms 4000 acres. “I have been farming for most of my life. I have done it officially full time since I graduated from university in 2004.
The steps people can take to ensure they have a good and safe harvest are to follow the motto my grandmother had in her house which was people need to slow down their day and not their life. This meant that we can get caught up a lot of the time with things we have to do during harvest and we should instead literally take the time that is needed when you drive from one place to the next on the farm. Also, we need to think things through when we are operating a dangerous piece of equipment like a tractor with a PTO and take the time to talk to the younger generation that don’t have the same experience as we do. For example, we need to tell them about the dangers because we cannot assume they know what these are.
To have a good harvest, it is all about your outlook. We need to focus on what we have control over. We put a lot of concern about the weather and we don’t have any control over the weather; all we can do is operate with what Mother Nature throws at us. We were at a drought for the first half of the year and now that we are finally getting some rain; I look at this as rather than being stressed about the rain, I am happy to have it because it will help us out for next spring.”
