Get Down to Dirt Series: Dwayne & Tonia

Tonia and Dwayne Streicher are transforming their farm with the help of a John Deere tractor.

December 16, 2016

Last fall we presented five small-farm owners a tractor to use for 10 weeks. Each of them were loaned a John Deere 3E Compact Utility Tractor or 5E Series Utility Tractor. In exchange, while they were working, we asked them to film what life was like on their farm for just a few minutes each day. Some had never owned a tractor. Others usually borrowed a tractor from a neighbor to use when needed, and some of them already had a few pieces of their own equipment. These are their stories about their experiences with using the tractor.

Tonia and Dwayne didn’t always intend to be farmers. Each of them grew up on a farm, but while living in the city, they realized how much they missed the space and lifestyle afforded by living in the country.

“We felt like a part of us was missing,” Tonia said. For more than a century, Lorhill Farm had been in Tonia’s family. In 2012, Tonia and Dwayne began working to create the farm’s next chapter. In the heartland of Ontario farmland sells for upwards of $20,000 per acre. The couple could have easily sold the family farm and walked away with the proceeds, but Tonia wanted to preserve the way of life she grew up with, so they decided to purchase the farm.

With some of the land rented, they have ventured into greenhouse vegetable production. Dwayne is an electrician and Tonia is an event planner and they have found it difficult to find enough time to fit their farm work around their off-farm jobs.