Farming on the Edge Pioneer farmers years ago on the prairie's northern edge, they are now pioneers in the use of modern crops, techniques, and equipment. Canola and wheat rule the sweeping prairie in northeastern Saskatchewan, nearly 500 miles from the U.S. border. Where the prairie ends, it is met by untamed forests of spruce, pine, aspen, and birch stretching north to the tundra. A clear, icy river flows from the hills nearby and tumbles through farmland on its journey east. This is where farming stops and forestry starts in the northland.
Winters are long and growing seasons short.
Dave Halland's father settled here in the 1930s. Dave grew up helping his father log with horses in winter and farm what they could during the short summer. The farm was small and the work rugged. It pitted the endurance of man, machine, and livestock against the rigors of near-wilderness conditions. Today, with the wilderness tamed, another frontier confronts Halland and his son, Alison.