search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
FEBRUARY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Dairy vs eggs in outstanding young


farmer competition Entrepreneurial spirit garnered win for Gary and Marie Baars of Chilliwack


by DAVID SCHMIDT


ABBOTSFORD – After graduating from high school, Gary Baars hung up a shingle as TNT Agri-Services, offering “relief milking and much more.” On January 11, that “much more” made the now 33-year-old Chilliwack dairyman, hay salesman and cattle dealer and his wife, Marie (26), the BC & Yukon Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017.


In 2006, TNT Agri-Services became TNT Hay Sales as Baars started selling hay, first to local horse farms and then to local dairy farms. “We sell a lot of hay to different dairy farms,” Baars says.


Not long after, the young entrepreneur expanded TNT to include cattle sales. When Farm Credit Canada offered him a large loan with “no strings attached” in early 2011, Baars used it to start his own dairy farm.


“I had enough money to buy quota for 15 cows,” he recalls.


Two years later, Marie’s grandmother asked the Baars to also manage her 160-cow 80-acre dairy farm in east Abbotsford. They agreed, on condition they could buy it. “We amalgamated our small herd with her larger herd and have been steadily improving the facilities,” Baars reports.


His entrepreneurship did not stop there. Last year, he purchased additional hay- growing acreage in Greendale and bought a 472-acre 100- cow dairy in Manitoba with two partners.


“We have already grown that farm by 20%,” Baars says. He has also served as a director of both the Mainland Young Milk Producers and the BC Young Farmers.


Baars’ entrepreneurial spirit extends itself to his


recreational activities. Twice a year, Gary and his father-in- law hold Cornfield Races, inviting friends and neighbours to race beat-up cars on the farm.


To earn the 2017 award from judges Rick Thiessen (2004 BC & Canadian Outstanding Young Farmer),


FAST, COMPLETE MIXING AND PROCESSING Visit our website or your local dealer for details!


UP TO $5,000 OFF SELECT NEW MIXERS Offer Ends: May 1, 2017


Mark Sweeney (retired BC Ministry of Agriculture berry specialist) and Kurt


Bausenhaus (partner in KPMG Abbotsford), the Baars outpointed Jeremy and Tamara Vaandrager of Vaandrager Farms in west Abbotsford.


Vaandragers close second


After managing several egg farms for other owners, the Vaandragers obtained a 3,000-bird quota in the 2010 BC Egg Marketing Board new entrant lottery.


They have since increased their quota to 6,000 birds and are in the process of converting their farm from a free-run operation to an aviary.


“Aviaries are common in Europe but still relatively new in North America,” Vaandrager notes.


Gary and Marie Baars will represent BC at the national OYF competition to be held in Penticton in November.


Gary and Marie Baars, 2017 BC & Yukon Outstanding Young Farmers. SUPPLIED PHOTO


3


VT 100 SERIES VERTICAL MAXX® TWIN-AUGER MIXERS


• Redesigned cone augers provide superior feed movement and auger clean off •  • Simple, dependable heavy-duty drive


320 – 760 cu. ft. mixing capacities • truck & trailer models


Matsqui Ag-Repair


Abbotsford, BC 604-826-3281


Tractor & Equipment Armstrong, BC


250-546-3141 Noble


Tractor & Equipment Kamloops, BC


250-851-3101 Noble INVEST IN QUALITY® KuhnNorthAmerica.com


Visit your local Kuhn Knight Dealer today!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47