Guilford's Organic Seed & Feed

Clearwater, Manitoba

A big hello from our home to yours. My name is Robert Guilford and I along with my wife, Celia and 11 year old daughter Jessie own and manage our mixed organic farm near the Pembina Valley in south central Manitoba. We also do pretty much all the work too. I grew up on the farm we live on, but worked off the farm for a few years before returning in 1981 to farm with my father and two brothers. I married Celia in 1983 and decided to go on our own as conventional grain farmers. We began our transition to organic farming in 1987 and as many of you know and understand, we still continue to learn many new things each year. It’s been a pretty incredible journey and I am always amazed by how many wonderful people we’ve come to know due to being involved with the organic movement.

We now have 28 American White Park cows along with calves, 17 yearling females and 15 yearling males. There are also 2 heavy draft horses we use for feeding the cows in winter, 2 riding horses and 6 yearlings here on the farm. Just to add to the diversity, we have 3 donkeys for coyote control, 30 chickens for eggs, 3 goats for milk, 6 cats for mouse control and 2 dogs for fun.

The farm consists of 640 acres owned and 320 acres rented. This year we’ll have 120 acres of flax, 70 acres of wheat, 200 acres of fallow, 220 acres of hay and about 150 acres for pasture. As you can see on the farm map we have a smattering of wet lands and trees. The land is slightly rolling and the soil is a black clay loam.

We have a small seed cleaning facility on the farm to clean all our grain before it leaves the farm. The cleaned grain is shipped directly to flour mills or oil processors and the left over screenings are fed to the livestock.

Celia works full time out of an office in the house for Peace Brigades International. This keeps her hopping with trips around the world along with the office work done from home. Her income helps fill in the financial voids that often happen on the farm. As you can imagine doing this kind of work requires the use of most of today’s modern technology. It’s quite a contrast to some of the other chores on the farm such as hoeing the garden or milking the goat.

Celia grew up in Winnipeg and I grew up a typical country boy in small town Manitoba with a conventional mindset. It’s interesting to reflect back on Celia’s transition to life in the country and my transition to a systems type of mindset needed to farm organically. There have been a few bumps along the road, but it certainly isn’t a road we regret taking. We’re proud of the fact that we’ve stuck with it, through thick and thin as it were. It’s our hope that through projects such as this Virtual Organic Farm project that we can help show people the importance of local food systems.

From our farm to yours, good luck and hope you have a great year.