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Zeleny Family Receives Alberta Century Farm and Ranch Award
Zeleny Family Receives Alberta Century Farm and Ranch Award
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The Alberta Century Farm and Ranch Award provides provincial recognition of farm families who have continuously owned and actively operated the same land for 100 years or more.
More than 1,970 farm families have been awarded with the Century Farm and Ranch plaque since its inception. Members of the Zeleny family were presented with the award by Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk on March 7 at the home of Clarence and Norma Zeleny, which is located one and a half miles west of Mundare.
It was Clarence’s father Mike who purchased one quarter section of land from Canadian National Railway in 1920 for $3,700. The land is located one and a half miles west of Mundare and was farmed by Mike Zeleny until 1961. Then Clarence took over operations. In 1963 Clarence purchased some Hereford cattle.
Back on Oct. 25, 1958 Clarence married Norma. Together, they raised three children; Robb, Shauna and Arlette.
Arlette said, “A fond memory of growing up on the Zeleny farm is that as kids we were able to run around freely and explore outside. All three of us, Robb, Shauna and myself helped with the chores of moving cows from one pasture to another, feeding the chickens, cats and dogs and a baby calf that a mother abandoned or passed away.
As kids we each had a calf of our own to bottle feed. Once it was time to sell, our dad would let us keep the money to put in our bank accounts. As we grew older and each of us had children of our own, dad and mom looked after all nine grandchildren. All of them were instilled with life-long learning lessons and values which we are grateful for.
Clarence’s son Robb began farming with him in 1972. That partnership lasted until 2024. This year will mark the first time Robb is going to head up operation of the family farm on his own. Robb said he is going to farm 1,500 acres, and his sister Arlette and her husband Joe Budinksi, and their kids are going to farm approximately 350 acres. His other sister Shauna and her husband Kelly Melynk and their kids will also farm about 350 acres.
All the Zeleny siblings live in close proximity to each other and can often be found at their parents’ place. Besides nine grandchildren, Clarence and Norma have two great grandchildren.
Clarence said the greatest feeling is seeing that the bins are full. One outstanding harvest a few years ago, canola sold for $24/acre. Of course on the other end of the spectrum, there was no crop to harvest in 2002 because of drought. Two other years, 1974 and 2016, combining was done in the spring, as it was too wet in the fall.
As for advice, Clarence said to build your farm slowly, manage your income wisely, and don’t overspend because you never know what kind of crop you’re going to take off.
Talking about the award, Robb said it is “quite an accomplishment” and something the family will always cherish. “It’s been an honour and pleasure farming with dad for all these years,” he added. Robb said during the peak time of farming with his dad, they had about 3,400 acres and 300 head of cattle. While the size of the operation is smaller now, the love of farming will be carried on, which is no small measure by any standard.
