Garnett family farm celebrates 100 years

Andrea Roberts
Times Contributor

 

Staying in the family business is no easy feat but for the Garnett family, farming is in their blood.
Not only did they recently celebrate 100 years on their family farm, but they were also the recipients of the Alberta Century Farm and Ranch Award.
The award, which is given to families that have actively owned and farmed the same land for 100 years, was presented to the family by Wheatland County councillor Don Vander Velde. The celebration was attended by roughly 160 people.
“I guess it was a beautiful day,” said Gary Garnett, the fourth generation of Garnetts to farm the land. “Everything went really well.”
The family was originally from Ontario but moved to Summerland, B.C. to start an orchard. In 1915 Gary’s great-grandfather Edmund Garnett traded the orchard for the farm in Carseland and moved the family to Alberta.
Gary joked that on some weeks it would be nice to still be in Summerland, but obviously trading in the Orchard must have been a really good change as they have been here 100 years.
The farm has been part of the family for six generations of Garnetts who farm grain, wheat, barley and canola. Currently Gary and his wife Nancy live on the farm. They have three daughters and two sons and a two-month old grandson. Gary’s parents John and Maureen also live on the farm, in an unconventional home, a converted grain bin. Gary explains that the previous owners used to farm oats and so had a number of grain bins to house the bushels. However, when they moved on to other crops they didn’t need as many bins, and they moved one bin onto a hill and converted it into a home.
“It is a really nice house, but as it was a grain bin before it was a house we don’t know how old the house actually is,” Gary said.
The award ceremony and celebration took place at the family farm on Aug. 8.