Meet Kevin VanderSpek, a family-man and farmer of faith and sustainability, who has taken the time to help us celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day on February 22, 2022, by telling Farms.com about himself, his family and why he loves the farm life.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Photo supplied by Kevin VanderSpek
One of the best things about being in the ag media business, is the vast opportunity to talk with farmers and learn something about them.
To celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day—today, February 22, 2022—Farms.com chatted with Kevin VanderSpek, 38, a grower of wheat, grain corn, and soybeans, as well as corn silage and alfalfa for his brother-in-law’s next-door dairy via his 850-acre Bains Brook Acres farm in Cayuga, Ontario.
VanderSpek is interested in and pursues sustainable and regenerative farming.
“Sustainability and stewardship go hand in hand,” explained VanderSpek. “My goal is to build a farm that carries on through to my children and their children. That defines sustainability for me.
“I farm to make a living, but it is also a lifestyle,” he continued. “It affects every decision and activity of the farm.”
He admits that there are a lot of things he can’t control, but he can control how he manages through it all: “Stewardship comes into play when I look at the big picture. Farmers would never add or perform a duty that would destroy their lively hood. I believe, through my faith, that I am called to be a steward of that in which I am blessed to have received.
“If I live out my calling to its fullest, I will treat my land and preform my tasks to the best of my giftedness and promote activities that show that. Sustainability fits in by being the long game reward to a short game in my actions.”
That long game extends all the way back to when VanderSpek was a child on the family farm: from picking stones as a child, to performing chores in the barn, or on a tractor or in a classroom—farming has been his life.
Now in charge of the farm, VanderSpek noted that the day-to-day of running it consists of the standard crop care and row crop farming activities.
“I own all my equipment and only rely on my 13-year-old son to help out,” he explained. “I spend a lot of time in the seat and behind a wrench.
“I am also the Chairman of my local Christian school,” he added, “so that requires a lot of time away from the family. I am also a delegate for the Grain Farmers of Ontario and sit on the marketing committee.
“In the Winter, because I’m not actively farming, I have the opportunity to run through all my equipment with a fine-tooth comb and get to drive kids to hockey and sporting events. If I’m lucky,” he smiled, “I can sneak away with the snowmobile once and a while. I also enjoy attending various farm shows and conferences all over North America—when pandemic restrictions allow.”
Despite the full schedule of work, industry and family, and the tiny window of “me” time afforded, VanderSpek really loves what the farm life brings to him.
“It allows me to do what I am good at,” he noted. “Really, most days there are no hours—you just work until you need to be home or until the work is done.
“But most activities can be done with my family around, and that allows me to be a great father and husband.”
There is no denying that the ag industry sees a bit of a disconnect between itself and the urban consumer, and wishes the non-ag people were more informed about how their food reaches the grocery store shelves. Farms.com asked VanderSpek how to reduce that informational gap.
He would love it if people would take the time to learn for themselves by leaning on actual farmers for knowledge.
“We live in a world of ever-increasing mandates and policies that affect farming greatly,” he said. “A popular policy might look good from a paved parking lot, but once it hits a gravel road it could undermine the core existence of sustainable and healthy food in the long term. While the governments want you to see their agendas talk, people need to do their own research and reach out to the ones with the dirt on their hands.
“Most farmers will welcome you to their table or machine shed to show you what is actually going on—but please come with an open mind.”