By John Gibner As interviewed by Martha Mintz

A visit to the late David Brandt’s farm in Ohio turned my idea of farming upside down. I was in complete awe of what he was able to achieve. His use of cover crops and other strategies to build a healthy, thriving soil biome allowed him to attain excellent production with minimal commercial inputs. It was a system that made sense financially and ecologically. I was hooked. I was inspired by the visit and immediately determined to turn that inspiration into action on my own operation near Port Elgin, Ontario.

I’ve never been one to wait. I bought my first tractor at an auction at 14, a White 4-150, officially launching my farming career. Throughout my teens and early 20s, I rented farm ground and bought a few heifers from my father to start my herd. My family had 800 acres of owned and rented ground in Cambridge, Ontario. My parents raised cash crops, beef cows and some hogs. I helped them and managed my smaller enterprise at the same time. I bought my first 50-acre farm in 2000 near Paisley. My wife Christy and I bought another 100-acre parcel in 2011 outside of Port Elgin and then another 100-acre farm in 2015.