CHANGE

Axten Farms is a multigenerational farm that we are proud to be part of. The first Axten’s arrived in the Minton, Saskatchewean area in 1916, and we farm that original homestead today. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our ancestors, we have expanded our farm and made it what it is today. In 1973, the corporation, Axten Farms Ltd. was formed. In the beginning, it was believed that in order to turn the natural prairie into productive farm land, it would have to be worked. At this time, the only way to control weeds and plant your seeds was to aggressively work and disturb the soil. Over the years, the idea of summer fallow also became popular. This is where farmers, including us, only seeded half the farm, while spending the summer cultivating the remainder of the land to control weeds and let the soil “rest”. As farmers watched their top soil blow away from the constant working of the soil, and herbicides were introduced, many farmers began to chem-fallow. Land that was not seeded was sprayed with chemicals that would control the weeds and keep anything from growing.