What’s your name? Ian Boxall.
I have been a farmer since: I’ve been farming since 2010.
I’ve been a Farm At Hand user since: 2013. Farm At Hand new dashboard is great and I love to see seeded and contracted grains on one page.
Where do you farm? Tisdale, Saskatchewan.
What do you grow? Hard red wheat, canola, oats, faba beans and canary seed.
How did you get into farming? My great grandfather homesteaded where we live about 111 years ago so you could say farming is in my blood.
What do you love about farming? Planting a crop and then nurturing it and watching it grow until harvest time.
Tell us a little bit about why you become a farmer and who you farm with. I left the farm for a number of years and realized that this is where I was meant to be. I farm with my wife Lisa, my brother Scott and his wife Kerri-Anne.
What’s one of your favourite moments when you’re out in the fields? Suppers in the field during harvest. The chance to catch up with family that gets neglected during the long hours of harvest is a nice treat.
Has technology changed the way you farm? Technology has definitely changed the way we farm – From auto steer to sectional control to make sure the exact amount of product is placed, to storing all my farm data digitally. It has made us as farmers more efficient.
What’s currently in your pockets? Wallet, $16.45, lighter and a butt connector.
What’s your most important piece of equipment and why? The sprayer. We farm in an area with high disease pressure in our wheat. The timing of the fungicide application is critical. When needed the sprayer has to be ready to go.
Can you share with us what you think our biggest challenge in Ag right now? Education. Both on and off the farm. We as farmers need to stay educated on what consumers are looking for. We need to educate the public on the fact that we as farmers are stewards of the land and the environment, and we are doing our best to provide superior products.
What’s your biggest lessons learned in farming/Ag this year? The biggest lessons learned this year was that we as producers need to stay linked up. We need to know what we have for inventory at any given time to be able to maximize the markets and stay on top of trends.
If there is one thing you want the general population to know about farming, what would that be? That agriculture is important – especially as we watch oil prices slide and that sector slow down. Ag in this province, this country and the world is an important economic industry.
Where can we find you online? Twitter @BoxallIan.
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