Alberta young farmer Daniel Schuring sees a future in egg farming

This is the fourth of a series of profiles of young egg farmers. They are all young leaders taking part in Egg Farmers of Canada’s national young farmer program, and will participate in the Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum annual conference in Saskatoon under the theme ‘Our story’.

Daniel Schuring

Barrhead, Alberta

Daniel Schuring, who grew up on a grain farm near Barrhead, Alberta, says he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a farmer—but he didn’t know if the opportunity would present itself. His family farm wasn’t big enough to support multiple generations, and his Dad was still young with many years of farming ahead.

He spent three years working for his uncle and grandfather on their potato farm near Edmonton after high school, before marrying his high school sweetheart, Carline, and moving back to his hometown. He and Carline, who works off-farm as a nurse, now farm with Carline’s parents, Rick and Beatrice Visser and brothers-in-law Nathaniel and Reuben. The Vissers have 24,000 laying hens and grow wheat and canola on their 2,400 acre farm.

Daniel likes crop production but he says he also really enjoys egg production and the variety of tasks that come with working on a farm that has livestock. “I’ll do chores in the barn in the morning, and then spend the afternoon in the tractor.” The flexibility of his role with the Vissers gives him the opportunity to work with his Dad, just a mile and a half up the road, and at a neighbouring broiler farm.

Though he still considers himself to be new to egg farming, Daniel likes to share his knowledge of agriculture and egg production. In 2017, he and Carline spent a few days at the Calgary Stampede, volunteering at the Egg Farmers of Alberta educational display. “It was neat, because we had birds in an interactive display and it drew people in to see real, live animals. And then they had lots of questions.” He says they both really enjoyed the experience and look forward to doing it again.

Daniel sees a future for himself in agriculture and is looking for opportunities to learn more about the egg industry and gradually take on more of a leadership role and responsibility on the farm. Participating in Egg Farmers of Canada’s national young farmer program, he says, is a first step to gain valuable knowledge and insights about egg farming. “I’m still pretty new to it all,” he says, “and I’d like to learn more about supply management and about how the industry works behind the scenes.”

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