About Genesis Land Conservancy

Farmers realize that they do not need to own the land to make a living. In fact, owning land can place more stress on farmers, creating financial difficulties with loans and debts. Genesis is a land trust that removes land  from the commodity market, eliminating the cost of financing it from one generation to the next. The following story is just one example of how the land trust has benefited a family who otherwise may not have been able to maintain a livelihood from farming.

Success Story

In the spring of 2000, ownership of two quarters of farmland near Nipawin was transferred to Genesis Land Conservancy. Today the land is helping a young family realize their dream of farming organically and raising livestock.

Kurt and Julie Rempel started renting the land in the spring of 2002, shortly after the birth of their first child, Hawken. Kurt was already farming in the area on his parents' land, and needed more to make his operation sustainable. He saw an ad for the Genesis Land Conservancy site and called to find out more.

"I was quite excited really because this is real prime farmland in an area where cash rent is usually fairly high,"  Kurt said. Normally, he wouldn't even have bothered bidding on land in that area, knowing that larger farmers would outbid him. It turned out that the young farmer's goal to become an organic grain producer fit with Genesis's values. And the rent was within reach.

Fifty of the 200 cultivated acres are now in transition to organic grain production. "The rest will follow suit as it fits in my rotation," said Kurt, who was already growing some crops organically on his own land while also raising cattle. The Genesis land is helping his farm to become more viable. "It means a little more security because, especially in a rotation heavily based on forages, you have to have a fair amount of acres available for cash crop."

Deanna Hawkins, a United Church minister who farmed there for 23 years, turned the land over to Genesis two years ago because she wanted to ensure it would always be used for food production. Situated on a hill next to the Saskatchewan River, the land was in danger of being developed for recreational purposes. Hawkins did not want to see her productive family farm become cottage country or a ski resort.

By placing the land under the stewardship of Genesis, she feels she is helping to preserve a legacy for future farmers. "I'm confident that Genesis will continue to use the land in the most appropriate way," Hawkins said.

Kurt said, "The trend in agriculture has been 'get bigger or get out,' and I don't have the banking resources to get big. It's encouraging to see people like Genesis do more than just talk about how the situation is hurting the family farm."