Farming Forward - Vice President
Hello!
My name is Duane Movald. I am a multigenerational cattle producer and mixed farmer that farms with my family west of Breton. My parents Morris and Linda partake daily in the operations here, and have dedicated their lives to the family farm as did dads parents, and as did dads grandfather also. My son Thomas along with his wife Hailey, and my daughter Emily all play roles in helping the farm operate as it does today. Our outfit raises registered Simmental and commercial cattle, and is a founding farm in establishing the BullRush Simmental Bull Sale that takes place every second last Thursday in February, in Rimbey. We grow crops and forages to support the livestock with a focus on environmental sustainability as a baseline for the direction of the operation. We are all proud to raise what is known worldwide as “ Alberta Beef! “.
What drew you to an applied research association like Farming Forward, and why are you interested in serving on this board?
One of the biggest draws for myself to become involved in an applied research association like Farming Forward is the networking aspect of the organization. There are so many folks doing and trying different types of production practices that are not always considered main stream, and they are very supportive when it comes to knowledge sharing. Learning from one another and growing not only on the business side of things, but also on a personal level is what attracted me to being involved at the board level.
What specific challenges are you currently facing on your farm that you believe research could address?
I believe land use and how it has been evolving is a true concern and challenge that not only our farm, but all farms are facing. The changing landscape and loss of farmland is something that will effect all farms as well as society in the future. Research that can mitigate this and solid information that can be utilized from that data, to not only do more with less land, but to help drive provincial and municipal policies to retain agricultural lands for production purposes versus other types of developments, are needed to ensure that agriculture can continue to be viable in the future.
How do you see the future of agriculture evolving? What are the key trends and opportunities?
In the future, I see agriculture continuing to evolve in a way that embraces new technologies with current and historical type practices as a base that will be drawn from. Always learning from the past with an eye on better and more efficient ways of tackling existing and up coming issues, is going to be the direction that agriculture needs to take to stay profitable and viable in the future. Technology will help facilitate many of the challenges that are faced, and that is a trend that will continue. Opportunities surrounding this will help minimize things such as extra labor, allow better land and livestock production practices, streamline the administrative component of managing farms, as well as time management.
How do we engage more people and grow our organization of like minded farmers?
I think one of the first steps in engaging people is realizing a common thread, and through listening. We all have something to learn from one another and when we take that step and head down that path of sharing the benefits can be substantial. As the network grows, so does the knowledge base and the organization. Soon it becomes the go to place to have problems solved, or get a better direction on a particular issue. There is no “I” in team, and when you can surround yourself and your operation with people that know, or that know who you can link you into with the knowledge you need, why would you not tap into that?
