Western Irrigation District Memories: Muriel, Brian and Wayne McKinnon

By John Godsman Times Contributor

The McKinnon family name originates in Tiree, a small island on the West Coast of Scotland, and in 1847, Donald McKinnon arrived in Ontario. In 1887, grandson Lachlin McKinnon boarded a CPR train at Priceville, Ont. and travelled west, where he obtained employment with General Strange of the Military Colonization Company (M.C.C.) which was located just east of what is now known as Carseland.
One of the earliest family farming companies, Kenwynn Farms Ltd., was formed in 1950, and after his father Don McKinnon passed away in 1976, Keith McKinnon and his wife Muriel took over. Keith had attended school at Carseland through Grade 12, followed by two years at both Olds College and SAIT. Muriel attended Bryn Mawr, a local one-room school for seven years before completing her education in Strathmore. She then studied education at the University of Calgary before arriving in Carseland to teach Grades 3 and 4 for two years.
The McKinnons were married on July 26, 1958 and their sons Wayne and Brian were born in 1959 and 1962 respectively. They both attended elementary and grade school in Carseland and Strathmore; Wayne then attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton and Olds College studying agriculture, while Brian studied business administration at SAIT. Both of them are now shareholders in Kenwynn Farms.
Wayne is married to Allison, and they had three children, but a son passed away in 2016 at age 18. Brian is married to Teri, and they have three children.
During this time, flood irrigation was introduced to Kenwynn land alongside the Bow River. This required the construction of contour ditches, with tarpaulins to block off sections, like a dam. This method was primarily used to irrigate hay crops and pasture but was very labour intensive.
In the early 1970s, the flood system was replaced by high-pressure centre pivot systems, resulting in substantial savings of both water and time. A centre pivot system to irrigate a quarter-section is a quarter mile long and can water 130 of 160 acres. In the 1980s, to increase water efficiency and be even more cost effective, the pivots were converted to high-pressure from low-pressure, and ran entirely on electricity. Additional improvements have involved the use of precision agriculture, such as GPS, to further increase efficiency on their farm.
Wayne and Brian feel that with the Western Irrigation District renovating the canal system, and converting to pipelines whenever possible, this will increase irrigation efficiency and provide better water management for future generations.