Begin forwarded message:

From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Subject: EPISODE 376 THE FACE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE – ANTHONY ACRES….2021

Date: June 26, 2021 at 3:08:23 PM EDT

To: askeoch@bellnet.ca

EPISODE 376    THE FACE OF MODERN AGRICULTURE – ANTHONY ACRES – 2021

alan skeoch

June 2021

CORPORATE FARMING:  STRIKING A DEAL WITH ANTHONY ACRES

There are still 100 acre farms here and there in Southern Ontario. Winaries for instance.  They must be economically worthwhile.  But the face

of modern agriculture is increasingly changing in scale.  That is not really news.   Just a drive in the countryside presents lots

of evidence.  Empty old bank barns and oversized tractors. We meet the new machines of agriculture every time we drive to the farm.  Imagine the investment necessary for

corporate farming like Anthony Acres.   How could they  make a profit.  Thousands of acres are necessary.   Anthony Acres rents thousands

of acres.  Most of their Land is rented not owned.   

Our two sons and partner Nick own a farm with about 60 to 70 acres of cropland.  They are not farmers.   Andrew dropped in to

the home farm of Anthony Acres which is just a short distance from their farm.  fifth line, Limehouse, Ontario.  The meeting was a good one.   Perhaps I can

put the conversation in dialogue form.  (My words)

“Hi, we own the old McLean – Saunders – McLeod farm up the road and wonder

whether you are interested in leasing the cropland before the weeds take over.”

“Might be interested but I’ll have to take a look first.”

“Now?”

“Yes…good a time as any…if land is good we can get a cover crop in fast.”

(Visit to farm)

“Let’s strike a deal…we need a three year lease at least…and will pay $90 an acre yearly…about 60 acres.”

“That will help pay the property taxes…for sure.”

“Should cover about 75% of the cost.”

“We  want to keep one field and the barnyard.”

“Fine.”

“I overheard a conversation once that claimed rented land was just being mined…corn, year after year,

until the land was exhausted.  Hate to think of that.”

“That’s pure hearsay…not true.  We care for the land.  No till agriculture…always keep the top soil covered

…cover crops like clover…nitrogen fixing.  We improve the soil.  Crop rotation…corn, soybeans, wnter wheat…

top soil never gets exposed to wind.”

“Did you notice the stones?”

“I did.”

“Won’t they be a problem?”

“Lots of the land around here is stony…ancient ice sheets 10,000 year ago pushed and ground stones as the ice

age advanced.  Then, when the ice retreated, the land was strewn with rocks.”

“One of my dad’s uncles ruined his Massey Ferguson combine when one rock got into the cylinder…bent it all to hell.”

“We are super careful.   I will send in a rock picker to go over all your fields before planting time.”

“Rock picker?”

“Tractor with steel forks…gets all the big rocks.  Where do you want them dumped…we’ll send one of the boys

up here next week.   Fields will be safe for combines after that.””

“But the  rocks get pushed up every year by the frost.”

“Then we’ll do another picking.  Part of the business.”

“Did you noice the old stone silo>?”

“Sure did.  Not many of those around.  Made out of the stones gathered by the Mclean family in the 1870’s.  Never saw

one before.”

“Used for Sileage, I think…Chopped up corn….stalks and all…fine dining for cattle n winter.””

“Yes. Some people think our silos are used that way.  Not true…our steel silos are filled with shelled corn….moved around with elevators to 

get the kernels dry.   Eliminate any chance of mould.    No relation to your fieldstone silo.  Better get a roof on it if you can.”

“All those machines must set you back a fortune…all John Deere except for the tractor trailers …”

“That’s why we need a lot of land…thousands of acres.”

(Unspoken thought:  “One of those tractors with attachments would cost a small fortune.

If Anthony Acres tried to buy all the land they needed the business would not be viable.  Renting, however, made good sense.)

NOTE:   BELOW IS A SHORT EXCERPT FROM ANTHONY ACRES WEB PAGE

Where and how we operate

Anthony Acres Ltd is a Canadian company operating in Southern Ontario within a large region from the Greater Toronto Area in the south, to the Dundalk Highlands in the north, from Guelph in the west to Caledon in the east. This area, inclusive of the Regions and Counties of Halton, Peel, Wellington and Dufferin, represents some of the best farmland in all of Canada.

By means of Best Management Practices and Precision Agriculture, Anthony Acres Ltd is dedicated to conserving, preserving, protecting and improving the farmland and the environment in which we work.

We are vertically integrated, with all facets of the business being done in-house.

This includes:

• crop marketing and sales
• agronomy
• seed cleaning and treating
• field cropping and crop protection product application
• equipment maintenance
• trucking
• cropland improvement and protection.

We have 2 elevating, drying and storage facilities, one in the Greater Toronto Area and on the border of Wellington County and Dufferin County.