Devin Pouteau
COVER STORY
Resourceful resilience in a precarious era: a
young farmer’s approach to farming amid
heightened uncertainty
BY JILL WINZOSKI
As a pandemic continues to bear down on agriculture
and the greater economy, making plans can seem like
a luxurious notion of a bygone era. Despite the uncer-tainty,
24-year-old Manitoba farmer Devin Pouteau
navigates the obstacles with cautious optimism and a
diverse arsenal of skills. Buttressed by his family’s guid-ance
and decades of experience, Pouteau employs a savvy combination of
newer and older technologies, making his living both on and off the farm,
experimenting with new solutions as the challenges roll in. Pouteau’s pas-sion
for farming is the bulwark driving his commitment to agriculture
despite the incoming hurdles.
“You really have to stick with what you enjoy,” said Pouteau. “Mentally,
it’s tough, but if I didn’t enjoy the work, I wouldn’t have stuck with it.”
The Pouteaus have been farming five miles east of Sanford, Man.,
for four generations. On roughly 2,000 acres, Pouteau’s dad Gary, 52, and
uncle Doug, 60, grow canola, wheat, and soybeans, while Pouteau grows
oats and some hay for cattle feed. Two years ago, Pouteau began farming
50 acres on his own, and this year expanded those acres to 130.
Pouteau’s bourgeoning career was showered with new opportunities
in 2016. His grandfather, Albert, began talking about retiring and selling
his cows at the tender age of 84. That spring, Pouteau graduated from
the agriculture diploma program at the University of Manitoba (U of M),
which prompted him to buy four heifers from Albert. “It was a good time
to make the transition,” he said.
Under Albert’s tutelage, Pouteau has been learning the ropes of the
cow-calf world – gradually taking over and expanding the operation from
around 20 to about 50.
“My dad and uncle used to have cows too, but they quit shortly
after BSE bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease hit,”
Pouteau said. “Ever since, Grandpa’s always had a really small herd of
about 18 to 20 cows that he’s managed himself. I don’t find having 50 >>
Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020 § 3