Sustainable Practices

Our Farming Practices Outlined

Chicken
Grain
Beef

Chicken

Our poultry operation is for table egg production. It was started back in 1950 by Henry Colborn.

Since then, our role as an egg producer is to provide the Canadian consumer with safe, healthy, sustainably produced eggs. We adhere to stringent animal health guidelines that involve annual auditing at both Federal and Provincial levels.

We use enriched housing for our poultry, which allows the hen to practice natural instincts and behaviours like dust bathing, perching and laying their eggs in a private area.

The housing system has feed and water available at all times. Birds receive annual vaccinations; there are regimented barn cleanings and climate controls that keep hen mortality low and produces high-quality eggs for our Canadian consumers. In addition, we are the only producer in Western Canada that uses 50% whole wheat and 50% supplement as our feed ration.

Our team gathers the eggs 365 days per year, once a day.

The eggs are stored in a cooler to await pick up by our local grader and can be later tracked from farm to grader to the grocery store.

We have had numerous family members serve the poultry industry as the board of directors and board chairmen. Keith Colborn was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Egg Producers. Both Keith and his brother Cliff are members of the Saskatchewan Poultry Hall of fame for their dedication to the poultry industry.

Grain

We produce grains, oilseeds and pulses. However, part of our land is not ideal for commercial grain production.

We use variable rate technology and soil testing to apply our inputs in the proper amounts to maximize crop yield potential. We follow the 4R recommendations of applying fertilizer: Right product, Right Location, Right Amount, Right Time.

With the adoption of no-till seeding and the use of glyphosate for tough to control weeds like quack grass plus new crop genetics with herbicide tolerance traits.

Our farm has increased production while avoiding disrupting the ecosystem with tillage or higher concentrated field chemicals.

Without it, our farm may have perished years earlier due to not growing higher-value crops like canola and lentils. By growing GMO crops like canola and corn, we avoid disrupting the beneficial ecosystem that harmful pesticides or application guidelines for granule chemical and spray insecticides destroy.

Beef

Our farm’s soil type and topography vary significantly from flat even loam soil, ideal for crop productions, to rolling sandy pastures.

To utilize the creeks, native grasslands and tame pastures, cattle must maintain the natural ecosystem and provide a viable return on those acres.

Our cattle graze the summer months on native tame forage in our pastures, helping maintain ecological balance.

Pastures are monitored weekly via horseback to monitor grazing load and ensure water availability. In the colder months, cows are fed barley and corn silage mixed with wheat, barley and oat straw, and ground barley grain. We also provide barley swath grazing or standing corn graze. Calving occurs indoors during the colder periods and moves outdoors as weather permits.

The wellbeing of Colborn cows is a priority which is why our cattle follow a vaccination program to minimize the use of antibiotics throughout the growing year.

Should sickness arise in any of our animals, we work closely with a trusted veterinarian to return them to optimal health.