There’s no better measure of character than the way one deals
with adversity. By that metric, Rayan Drury has reached the gold
standard. The determined third-generation farmer manages to stay
upbeat even when discussing the challenges posed by his land in
Carrot River, just a few clicks away from Tobin Lake and the
Saskatchewan River.
“We grow cattails and swamp grass,” jokes Drury, before his
young daughter Kira pipes up,
“And I think he’s trying to grow some canola!”
Despite the potential of the soil, the Drury farm has seen more
than its fair share of wet weather. Ever since he bought the land
in 1996, Drury says he’s never had a drought.
“I’ve always believed water attracts water,” sighs Rayan. “Last
year’s crop, I had some of the most beautiful crops I’ve had, but
then the rain came and never stopped. I could never swath it
because it got so wet.”
The battle against inclement weather never ends on the Drury
farm, so it’s no surprise that Drury prefers to grow DEKALB® 75-65
RR. With earlier maturity and better resistance to pod shatter than
other hybrids, Rayan feels better prepared to get his harvest in
the bin on time. With rain or snow as a constant concern, he’s
weighing the benefits of giving his swather a rest and
straight-cutting again.
“This year I plan to swath what I can swath,” he says, “but I’ve
tried it in the past with other varieties and there are benefits to
it.” Rayan’s commitment to his unpredictable acres is nothing short
of inspiring to his DEKALB® Territory Account Manager, Lisa
Britz.
“It’s a fascinating area,” says Lisa, “I really see these folks
and their farm as truly unique because of their challenges, but I
love how eternally optimistic they are.” That’s no
small feat, considering the tough conditions have already driven
out some of the Drury’s neighbours. Even so, the family carries on
with the undying faith in the potential of their fields and
steadfast investment in the products they’ve seen work for their
land.
“I use lots of weed control at pre-seed,” says Rayan, “Usually
Roundup Transorb® HC® is all you need.” Even though Rayan
appreciates that DEKALB® makes it easy to track down field data,
the best value he gets from the research is being part of it.
“This is the first opportunity I’ve had to work with trials,”
says Rayan cheerfully, “I mean, you can see trial information all
over the place, but it doesn’t mean much to me because my farm is a
little different from most.”
Different may be something of an understatement, but that’s just
that famous Drury optimism for you. And behind the optimism, you’ve
got to have real devotion to the work—and a wry sense of humour to
boot.
“You’re working for yourself, and you’re doing something
different every day,” Rayan says with a grin. “It’s also a big
risk. I don’t consider myself a gambler, but farmers are about the
biggest gamblers out there.”
Luckily for the Drurys, there is some relief from the punishing
conditions. The family owns a seasonal campsite, where they park
their camper in the warmer months to relax together.
“It’s at a regional park with a swimming pool and a golf
course,” says the dad of two.
“It’s small and safe enough that the kids can roam around like a
little pack of dogs.” The farm is also in a great location to
entertain some of Rayan’s other favourite activities—hunting and
fishing. With that many hours going into tough land, it’s important
to Rayan to make time for leisure. That’s not to say it doesn’t
mean finding a balance.
“You’ve got to stay on top of things,” warns Rayan to young
folks interested in farming,
“Control what you can control, because there’s so much you
can’t.”
We thank the Drurys for choosing DEKALB® brand seed for their
farm and wish them a safe and successful harvest this year and for
many generations to come. Check out the results of farmer-managed
Market Development trials on DEKALB.ca this fall.
INTRODUCINGTHE DRURY FAMILY
ADVERTISEMENT
RAYAN & CRYSTAL’S COMMITMENT TO THEIR UNPREDICTABLE
ENVIRONMENT IS NOTHING SHORT OF INSPIRING TO THEIR LOCAL DEKALB®
TERRITORY ACCOUNT MANAGER, LISA BRITZ.
STRONG75-65 RR canola is built to straight cut. The first
product of our focused breeding effort on shatter resistance; 75-65
RR was bred for straight cutting. It will run through your combine
like a dream.
Strong for Straight Cut. #FinishStrong • 1-84-GO-DEKALB •
DEKALB.ca
FINISHING
STRSTRAIGHT CUT DEKALB® 75-65 RR CANOLA
