And it looks like the Legge tradition will continue. John, Murray and Doug have a total of five sons of their own. And they all want to farm.

“All of us working together and getting along has definitely contributed to our success,” Doug says. “And we’re proud of the fact all of our boys want to farm. They must see a future in it, so we’re going to do our best to make it happen.”

John adds, “It’s just about impossible for a young guy to start by himself. The cost of doing business is too high. But we need young people in farming. The average age of farmers around here is about 60 years old.”

Divided responsibilities

The Legge brothers share responsibilities. Oldest brother John is a self-taught “mechanical engineer”. He’s in charge of the equipment, and is the chief harvester and combine operator. His son, Paul, already looks like he’ll follow in his footsteps.

Murray, the middle brother, is the cattle specialist, and a director of the Ontario Cattle Feeder’s Association, an organization he helped found to make things better for feedlot owners. His sons, Scot and Chris, are both Ontario Agriculture College graduates, and have returned to the farm to learn and help with the day-to-day farming. They both have their own farms nearby.

Youngest brother Doug is a Certified Crop Advisor, and the local Pioneer Hybrid, Ltd. sales rep. Doug makes the cropping decisions: what varieties to grow, where and when to plant, and when to apply chemicals. Doug has two sons: Aaron is in agricultural college, and Cory is in high school.

Limousin cattle

The Legges buy purebred calves or yearlings -- whatever is available -- finish them and sell them on the live market. Ninety percent are top-of-the-line Limousin cattle that produce a higher yield, require a very high-energy ration, and usually sell at a premium.

The Legges started leaning toward Limousin cattle about 15 years ago when they first became available. Murray puts it this way: “We sell beef so we decided to sell the best beef. There are two reasons for the premium we get: the quality of the cattle and the quality of the feed. We feed our cattle a limited amount of roughage.”

First New Holland tractors

Two years ago, the Legge brothers purchased their first New Holland tractors a Model 8770 and a Model TN75 with a front loader.

“We’re very pleased with them,” John says. “Probably the next tractor we buy will be New Holland. The 8770’s transmission is nice because you don’t have to change ranges. You push buttons right up through. It’s very smooth. And when you use the manure spreader, you can set the hydraulics, lock them in, and you don’t have to worry about jamming it or spreading too thick or too thin. It goes at the same rate all the time. The year we bought was a good year to buy, because it was so wet. The 8870 went right through everything.”

Murray quips, “The tractor helps get people up in the morning, because the first one out gets to drive it.

“We use the TN75 for cleaning barns and moving bales. In our older barns, we have to get around in some low areas. The TN75 is handy, really easy to operate, and very maneuverable. You can load all day wit those controls and not get tired.”

Bigger equipment, not extra help

The Legges have owned New Holland combines and forage harvesters for a long time.

“As our operation expanded,” Murray says, “we just went to bigger equipment rather than hire extra help. Working together for thirty-some years has eliminated each of us having to have a set of machinery. As the boys help us and get set up, they won’t be able to afford their own equipment. They’ll use ours.

“With combines, we started out with two New Holland 1400’s. In 1986, we bought a TR™ 86. We ran it for ten years and sold it to the neighbor. It’s still going,” John says. “Then we bought a TR88 and two years ago we bought a TR89.

Outside pressures

Like most farmers, the Legges feel pressure from their neighbors and local government. Murray puts it this way: “People move from the city and want to be in the country, but they don’t want to be associated with the smells that have to do with farming.

“They say they’re not against family farms, but they don’t realize a small family farm can’t survive on what they pay for food. On February 8, Food Freedom Day they call it, the Federation of Agriculture was publicizing that the average family had earned enough to pay for their yearly food by that time. But the farmer got his share by January 8!

“We’re pretty rural here, about 15 miles from Walkerton, but they’re using every excuse why we can’t expand. There’s a moratorium on building right now. We can’t put up a building for more than 150 animal units because they’re afraid of manure run-off and pollution. They don’t realize if we could build bigger barns, we’d have better systems to control and manage the disposal.

“We want to be optimistic, but the whole environmental issue is out of balance. And people spend more for recreation now than they do for food. Food supply should be a number one issue now, but it’s not.”

Future challenge

With five fourth-generation Legges interested in carrying on the family operation, it will be a challenge to grow and refine the operation so it can continue to provide a living for them and their families.

“There’s a future in farming, but it’ll be a challenge,” Murray says. “We’re betting on quality cattle, feed and equipment. We’re proud to be farmers and loving the land.