The Kundert Family received a Century Farm and Ranch Award this year. (Photo Courtesy of Government of Alberta)

By Chris Brown

Century Farm and Ranch Award

Kundert family recognized for more than 100 years on the farm

Sep 13, 2020 | 9:00 AM

From Heinrich and Regina to Ken, Sherry, Kelsey, and Korilye, the Kunderts have lived on and worked the land near Hilda from 1910 to 2020.

The current crew of Ken, his wife Sherry, and their daughters Kelsey and Korilye was honoured to accept a Century Farm and Ranch Award on behalf of all four generations.

“It’s quite a milestone for our family,” Ken said this week. “I realize it takes a lot of people to make it happen and I’m thankful for our forefathers to stick it out as long as they did.”

What began as a mixed farm with grain and cattle 110 years ago, has been streamlined to mainly a cattle operation now.

Ken says it was simply a matter of preference and the direction he and his family wanted to move forward in.

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Reflecting on other changes since he’s taken over, Ken says it’s become about efficiency and doing as much work yourself as you can trying to make it more economical.

“I know we still like to think of it as a family-run operation and it is for the most part,” he explains. “Unfortunately with the economics the way they are, we need to look at is as more of a business model and the increasing costs on the expense side and making everything a lot tighter. The profit margins are smaller and so you need to watch what you’re doing.”

His daughters are hands-on now, helping out where and when they can. But Ken isn’t sure what the future holds.

“We’re not sure what the future is going to bring us, we’re still in the figuring out stages so we’ll see what happens down the road,” he says.

The Kundert Farm is one of more than 50 Alberta families being recognized with the Century Farm and Ranch Award this year. More than 1,800 families have been recognized since the program started in 1993.

“Rural Alberta is a vital part of the fabric of our province. Through COVID-19, we were reminded that when all else fails, our farmers and ranchers are there to keep us fed and taken care of,” says Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Glasgo in a statement. “The Kunderts have farmed near Hilda for over a century and I was happy to travel out to their home to present them with a Century Farm Award to congratulate them on their years of success and hard work.”