Derek axten

Derek Axten runs Axten Farms, a 4000 hectare grain farm near Minton, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Tannis. He grew up on the family farm, which was first established in 1916, and has a diploma in Farm and Ranch Management. Their guiding principle is “Loyal to the Soil.”

With sandy soils and low rainfall, moisture sets the limits. Since adopting a low-disturbance no-till drill in 2007, Derek has rebuilt the cropping system around soil health, using diverse rotations, cover crops and intercrops such as chickpeas with flax. Stripper headers leave standing stubble to protect the soil, and controlled traffic farming reduces compaction.

He tests ideas in the field, watches how soil and crops respond, and keeps what works at farm scale. Results include better water infiltration, more diverse soil biology, higher organic matter and lower input costs.

Derek has served as president of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association. With Tannis, he was named one of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers in 2017 and co-founded Horizons Agriculture, a two-day gathering on their working farm.