Oats
Abe Giesbrecht
Inspired by generations of farmers in his family, Abe Giesbrecht has always had an interest in farming. So it was no surprise when he bought the plot of land in La Crête, Alberta at the young age of 19. Or that he loves tending his fields with his wife, kids, and other family members to this day.
Because of the many reasons Abe enjoys the farm life, he loves being able to do it with his family above all else.
Abe is something of an artist when it comes to his crops. He takes pride in having a very clean field. “I do not like fields that are overrun by weeds,” he tells us. “If you can grow a nice green crop with very little weeds in the fields, that’s a priceless thing. That’s the beauty of it all. You can see there’s potential—there’s nutrients and life in the soil, and the crop is taking full advantage of it. That is beautiful.”
As you can see, Abe and his family take great care in growing the highest quality organic oats they can.
Farming organically requires a higher level of precision—and a lot more time in the fields than conventional farming. Abe sees this as an opportunity to add a more personal touch to the farming of his oats. But that doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges. “There are days where you have to put in 15 to 18 hours day just because you want to get everything done,” says Abe.
But the hard work and full days don’t bother Abe. He tells us he loves a challenge!
For him, organic farming is worth the extra effort. “We are by nature a healthy family; we like to eat healthy. We have a garden, we love to grow our own foods, and we try to do so as organically as possible. We do our best to stay away from fertilizers in our gardens for health reasons, and we think we can approach farming oats in a similar way—take care of it in other ways without using pesticides, and grow natural, healthy crops.”
Abe wants other families to be able to enjoy the healthy, organic foods that his family does. That’s part of what motivates him to go the extra mile and practice organic oat farming. And why One Degree Organics is proud to use Abe’s oats in the products we make for you to put on your family’s table.