32 The Business of Prairie Agriculture Better Farming | February 2024 Jackie Dudgeon-MacDonald of Darlingford, Man. describes herself as being a “hybrid farm kid” in her early life. She now farms with her husband Devon and their two children on her family’s grain farm and their own beef farm. “On my family grain farm, I will be third generation. My grandpa started with the land initially, and Dad bought it from him and has farmed my whole life,” says Jackie. Jackie grew up watching her father farm, but initially was not involved on the farm and did not feel the draw to agriculture. After working a summer job between years at university, she fell in love with the community and the lifestyle. “I didn’t grow up on the farm. There was no house on the farm, and when my parents got married, they were living in the time of 18 per cent interest rates and building a new house at that time didn’t make sense. I grew up in town and I didn’t do anything the standard farm kid grew up doing.” She recalls saying no when her father often suggested she get a job in agriculture. It wasn’t until she was home for summer break after her first year of university that she agreed to a summer position at a nearby Nutrien location. “I don’t know why that made me fall in love with agriculture, but I think it was the people,” says Jackie. “I switched to an agriculture program in university after that, and I graduated and was working when I met my husband. “He had cows, and that was new to me. We moved to MacGregor, but we knew in our heads that we always wanted to take over my family farm.” Jackie and her husband have now been farming alongside her father for just over two years. She shares that her father had a similar path to agriculture, working for the government and in accounting before returning to the farm. “I think there’s something to be said about that path – I came back to agriculture because I love it; I didn’t come because I felt I had to do it.” The family is working through the process of transitioning the grain operation, Shadeland Farms, to Jackie and Devon. The couple have also started their own separate beef herd, North Shade Cattle Co., where they raise Simmental and Angus-cross cattle and direct market their own beef. They also balance farming with The Dudgeon-MacDonald family of Darlingford, Man.: Cathy, Sloane, Devon, Jackie, Rob, and Walker. Jackie Dudgeon-MacDonald photo A ‘HYBRID FARM KID’ RETURNS HOME ‘I came back to agriculture because I love it.’ By Emily Croft UP CLOSE
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