Wheat Farm Sells Crops A Different Way

Wheat Farm Sells Crops A Different Way FARM HOME Novelty Items 24-5-24 Harold Moen knows how to take lemons and make lemonade. In 1993, Moen inherited the family grain farm near Swift Current, Saskatchewan and inadvertently became a farmer. He took a look at the state of farming and decided to sell the farm's product in an entirely different way. "It was amazing to me that even though I inherited 480 acres and all the machinery, it still wasn't economical for me to farm it in the traditional way," he says. "In Canada, a conventional grain farm of this size does not have the economy of scale to make money or to break even. We did extensive research to find a way to make a profit and the result was setting up a retail business that sells six innovative roducts. "Using just 39 acres for the business, Moen grows triticale, bearded wheat, green oats, flax, safflower, canaryseed, and black bearded wheat. He harvests and markets the entire plant to the dried flower market using a special preservation process. He also began harvesting 29 species of wild plants that grow on the farm's 180 acres of native prairie, and in the ditches. He sells these plants to the floral industry and the North American nutraceutical industry. The remaining 280 acres on his farm produce conventional durum wheat, which is harvested and marketed in the traditional way. "Market research showed that the flower industry wanted a preserved product that, would shatter less, and last longer," he says. "I decided to develop a commercial process and license the production process to others." Moen paid $50 for a six-foot drill he found in someone's junk pile and pulls it with a Massey 44 tractor. He uses a specialized Japanese rice harvester to bring in his whole-plant crop. The "walk-behind" unit travels at about 3 mph per hour and has a binder that makes a sheaf every 6 sec. "To harvest 10 acres, you have to walk 70 miles," Moen says, pointing out that his operation is no "cake walk" in the heat of July. He hires high school students, university students and farm wives, and also has contract pickers from as far away as British Columbia to fill orders for his prairie plants. Workers are paid according to how much they pick. Moen begins harvesting the wild plants as early as late May, and the grains at the end of July. Harvest continues until winter. His value-added grains and oilseeds reach consumers, not as flour or oil, but as retail products such as bird feeders, decorative sheaves and swags, craft kits, and handcrafted corporate gifts. He also wholesales to Canadian and U.S. craft manufacturers in bulk, offering cleaned and field run sheaves. These companies had previously imported their supplies from Italy. Designers use the preserved botanicals in dried/preserved arrangements and as an accent or filler in fresh bouquets. Moen preserves the decorative plants with glycerin, which keeps them soft for many years. Some are dyed various colors before being arranged into attractive displays, which are later purchased by consumers for home decorating. In addition to wholesaling, he markets these products via mail order catalogues, as well as through distributors. Moen knows the value of diversifying, and tries to spread his risk out over a variety of markets. He also sells hydroponically grown herbs and "forest products" such as evergreen wreaths and swags. He says the company generates "substantial revenue ù enough to make a good living," but he's the first to admit that his new approach to farming is still not devoid of a lot of hard work. Contact: FARM SHOW Follow-up, Harold Moen, Coulee Pickings Ltd., 230 E Hodsman Rd., Regina, Sask., Canada S4N 5X4 (ph 306-721-7863; fax 306-761-2709; E-mail: harold.moen@sk.sympatico.ca; Web site: www3.sk.sympatico.camoenh).

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