b'of growing the crop, so hes not yet ready to make a definitiveThe information transfer isnt only one way, of course. recommendation to growers.I love loading out trucks and talking with people. Big and Its looking like its on the heavier side of heavy. It lookssmall farms come here. Whether people buy a little or a lot of excellent in the field but we havent got to it yet so I cant makeseed, we treat them all the same. Ive learned a lot over the years a definite judgement, and even then I wont know for sure. Itby making time to listen to people.takes me about two to three years to really feel comfortable andWe had people come for four pails of wheat once and they confident recommending a variety.ended up talking for two hours. They were trying to do their His top pick for peas is CDC Greenwater, a high protein,best with very little. Other people come in for seed for 20,000 semi-leafless field pea that resists bleaching.acres. We get all different types of people. Theyve all got Given the number of varieties hes growing of each cropsomething to say thats worth hearing.type, administration and record-keeping are key. Rotation is everything. We have to keep track of where weve been with everything, he says. Details are important in farming, especially if youre a seed grower. Ive learned a lot over Administration isnt the only thing he is committed to doing right. From growing and harvest to cleaning and storage to finalthe years by making time sale, Holmstrom believes in doing things well the first time. to listen to people.From my perspective, doing things the right way is always important. The right way is the right way. When a bin is clean, Darrell Holmstromits not sort of clean or mostly clean, its clean. When things are done right, you can move on to the next thing confidently.He feels the same about his word. It all comes down to standing by what you do and what you say.Holmstrom Seed Farm services customers from as far as I come from a family where that mattered. My dad had integrity.Manitoba and from southern to northern Alberta. He passed it on to me and I tried to pass it on to my own kids.The weather in this area treats us a bit better. Were known Holmstrom also believes deeply in the importance offor not getting too much frost, for being a little drier than other supporting research, development and innovation. He was partareas, which means our seed stock has good vigour, he says. of starting the Battle River Research Group out of ForestburgHolmstrom and his wife, Barb, are proud that three of their in 1987. Hes played a vital role in increasing seed stocks forfive children have followed in their farming footsteps. The various up-and-coming varieties at the Lacombe Researcholdest daughter, Laurel, who happily drove the swather from Station. And he has regularly handed over plots of his land forage 12, began growing seed for Holmstrom Seeds this year various research trials.with her husband, Dave. Their third daughter, Jodi, and her While his willingness to let researchers use his land is publiclyhusband, Phil, farm land nearby as well as working part time beneficial, its not entirely altruistic: he believes he gets as muchfor Holmstrom Seeds. Youngest daughter, Rebecca, and her value from the trial as the researchers.husband, Ryan, recently joined the family business full time Having trials done on my farm lets me learn from excellence.while raising AB Cattlelac barley as seed and managing a herd I see it as an investment in my own farm because it lets me getof cattle. better myself. Rather than just thinking my own thoughts andWere in the process of transitioning to more family using my own ideas, having a trial here means I can work withinvolvement on our farm, says Holmstrom. Its good. Its really these top-level, behind the scenes people and learn from themgood. But it takes effort to make that transition. to improve my own decision-making, he says. The Holmstroms dont just farm together, they singoften Allowing research to be done on his farm also means that hein multi-part harmonytogether, too. Holmstrom sees a lot gains location-specific insight.of parallels between learning a new song and learning to farm You cant always follow advice from another geographictogether. location. You have to figure it out specific to your land. InCreating harmony together doesnt automatically happen: my case, I benefit from excellent research minds helping meyou have to work at it and practice. You cant just be thinking determine what will work best on my farm. about your part, you have to appreciate that everyone has a What he learns via this research, hes happy to pass on todifferent part. And when you start adding in extra partsthe other farmers.kids spouses who have different backgrounds and different Being part of these trials helps me be a better teacher to myexperiencesyou have to figure out how they fit in. But its an customers. All the information I gain, Im a conduit to transferamazing thing that happens when we get the harmony right.that knowledge to other people.Madeleine BaergFall 2019 43'