Legacy is something producers in the cattle industry understand well, whether through their operations, their management practices or the knowledge passed from one generation to the next. Legacy has the power to shape everything, for better or worse.
It’s something that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately as I step into a new role at Canadian Cattlemen.
I am both pleased and humbled to have become editor of Canadian Cattlemen and to continue the legacy of this historic publication. The last four years writing for this publication have inspired, enlightened and motivated me, and I’m eager to continue that work as editor.
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Agriculture has always been at the centre of my life, long before I realized how much it would influence my future. I grew up on a mixed farm near Inglis, Man., and spent my teen years as a tour guide at the Inglis Elevators, walking visitors through those prairie giants every day in the summers and explaining how they worked. Most days of my youth were spent climbing on machinery, or walking through pastures, or playing with our farm dogs — though they were less effective at livestock protection than the ones examined in our cover story.
My ties to agriculture run deep on both sides of my family. My mother’s side has been running a mixed operation near Oakville, Man., for generations. The farm I grew up on is multigenerational as well, starting in the early 1900s when my great-grandfather, Kozma Bezan, immigrated to the area from Ukraine. He passed the farm on to my grandfather, Jim, who expanded it and started raising horned Hereford cattle. My father, Warren, rejoined the operation in the 1990s, with a keen interest in cattle, and switched the herd from purebred to commercial. Now my brother, Ryan, works alongside my dad, expanding the operation in both land base and herd size while experimenting with regenerative practices. I like to think the things he reads in the pages of this publication inspire him to try new management practices and technologies, not unlike the ones highlighted in Jill Burkhardt’s story about research being done at the University of Alberta regarding precision ranching. Who’s to say?
Though my history in agriculture spans time, it wasn’t until I took an internship at the Western Producer in 2021 for my journalism degree that I found a true passion for it. Growing up, the farm was just a place I lived, a constant. While working at the Western Producer, I realized it was more than that. It was a way of life, and one I wanted to be part of. Finding my way back to my roots through agricultural journalism brought my life full circle.
I took my role at Canadian Cattlemen shortly after graduating from university, and I quickly learned about the long history of this magazine. As I take the helm now, I recognize the large shoes I have to fill, with Lisa Guenther before me and the venerable late Gren Winslow before her. I am committed to serving our readership and the industry as a whole as I continue the work our magazine has done for decades.
I’m sure we have readers who have subscribed to the magazine since before I knew how to walk. Many of our writers and columnists have been here for much longer than I have — Reynold Bergen, for example, has been writing Research on the Record for us for more than a decade. This month’s column, focusing on rangeland connectivity, shows his expertise.
For myself, I continue to learn and improve, while doing my best for the legacy I now champion.
Legacy can feel like a burden, but it can also be a powerful motivator. Kelly Sidoryk looks at this briefly in this month’s Depth of Field column, regarding the Odyssey Plan. She touches on how this plan can be used during succession planning and notes that the future of current operations will look different once the next generation takes over. While she focuses on the older generation expanding their horizons, it’s also true that the younger generation often carries the weight of legacy, and that may influence the decisions they make on the farm and the way they operate every day.
The same can be said not just for producers, but for many of us with work, our families and more.
When I consider the weight of legacy, I find myself thinking about my dad, my brother, my grandfathers, my mother and both of my grandmothers, who have also played large roles on the farms and helped mould me into the person I am. I think about the place that shaped me and the people I represent, not just in my family but as the editor of this magazine, as well. There is a weight to that, for sure, but also an opportunity, and it’s one I’m excited to undertake.
