Organic farming refers to the process of farming crops without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulators or genetically-modified organisms.

The Schraefel Farm, located 10 km SE of Kerrobert is a certified organic farm. Schraefel Farms is owned and operated by Clement and Chandra along with their sons Adam (27), Stephen (25) & Derek (21) who are the forth generation on the farm.

The farm was originally homesteaded by Schraefel’s grandfather, the first Clement Schraefel, in 1907. His youngest son, Schraefel’s father, eventually took over the farm, and in 1996, while living in Calgary, the then family of four, made the choice to come home to Kerrobert.

“My husband was working in Calgary for the railroad when his dad was getting ready to be done farming, he asked us if we wanted to come back and take over, and we did.” Reported Ms. Chandra Schraefel, “We packed up the two boys and moved to the farm in 1996.”

The family’s transition into farming was not a smooth one. Within four months of being on the farm, Mr. Schraefel’s dad had passed away. While Mr. Schraefel had always come back to the farm to help with seeding and harvest, he hadn’t really ever been involved in the management and decision making processes.

“Although we had really great neighbours around to help us out, we sort of lost our mentor when my father- in-law passed away.”

Ms. Schraefel shared that the decision to switch to organic farming was two part. They realized quickly that chemicals weren't cheap, the economics weren’t working; they’d either need to find second jobs or a different way of doing things. Around the same time, they also had scare on the farm.

“Clem was cleaning out a sprayer while our middle son, Steven, was playing in the yard and he happened to get a shot of the chemical in his eye,” Ms. Schraefel added, “We were holding this screaming child under the tap, trying to flush out his eye and we both just said ‘this isn’t right.’”

Mr. Schraefel then began looking around for other methods of farming. The farmers were finally convinced to try going organic on 40 acres.

“It was actually a disaster,” laughed Ms. Schraefel, “But we liked no chemicals, so we jumped in anyway.”

Being organic means yearly inspections, lots of extra paperwork and records of everything. It is a three year process to become certified organic and The Schraefel’s became so in 2000.

“We were laughed at for quite awhile and I’m not sure was my father-in-law would think of it if he were here now.”

Farming is never easy and Ms. Schraefel is cautious in comparing their method with others.

“We never want to put down any type of farming. Farming is hard however you do it, so Kudos to all farmers.”