One important MacNeill family value weaves through generations of this P.E.I. farm family: there’s nothing wrong with a good day’s work.
Cows might come and go on this sixth-generation dairy farm and decades-worth of visitors have lived the farm life if only for a brief summer vacation in the on-farm cottages. Even hurricane Fiona left her mark on the MacNeill farm two years ago (more on this later.) But that one constant value, pride in a good day’s work, has allowed the MacNeills to focus on building a continuous business vision that is carefully crafted by looking to past successes and challenges to inform future growth.
But decisions are never made on a whim. “A decision is planned a hundred, a thousand times before it’s made,” Lance MacNeill says.
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Then when Fiona destroyed their barn in September 2022, they suddenly had to make an “on a whim” decision.
“Building a new barn wasn’t even on the radar. Not at all, except maybe a dream,” says Lance.
Lance, who is a civil engineer, advocated strongly for a prefabricated Wolf barn structure to house their 60-head milking herd. “You basically snap the structure together like Lego,” says Lance.
“When I walked into my first Wolf barn, I was blown away by the laminated wood beams and how stately the structure looked. I thought it would be a beautiful barn in our location on the water and for tourists. It just ‘sells’ it all a little better.”
He said that he was completely sold on the idea when he learned they wouldn’t have to work their herd around a traditional construction project that could take months. “You can go from the building being delivered to frame up, steel roofing and gable end panelling in place in a couple of weeks. Once it’s enclosed, they do the interior cast-in-place concrete work.”
“Everyone chipped in and provided their input when coming up with a design, layout and equipment to go in the new barn,” says Lance’s dad, Kevin. “We all researched, visited neighbouring barns and discussed options with salespeople. It was almost overwhelming with all the options and choices to choose from”.
Eventually they settled on a design that allowed them to build the free-stall structure over top of the previous tie-stall, which meant they didn’t have to touch the milking equipment. “That was a huge savings. We were able to repurpose our existing milk room and continue to milk in 12 tie-stalls like a flat parlour. This allows us time to determine how we may want to milk the cows in the future whether it’s a robot, parlour or stay status quo,” says Lance.
“I call it the cow castle,” jokes Heather, Lance’s mom. “And we didn’t have to worry about moving the cows elsewhere while crews poured cement and all that stuff. Other than being late for milking for two days, there were no issues. It didn’t faze the cows one bit.”
Building on the past
The first MacNeills arrived in Cavendish in the 1830s, acquiring the original plot from an absentee landlord. They now farm just under 1,000 acres, some of which is national parkland.
The family rents a couple hundred acres from the P.E.I. provincial arm of Parks Canada. They are permitted to grow only certain crops such as hay, grain and soybeans, and no row crops (e.g., corn or potatoes).
The MacNeills, and others like them, are tasked with maintaining the soil and Parks Canada keeps an eye on things to make sure restrictions are followed.
“They want these fields to look pastoral for the people who travel here. Bike and walking trails are designed to run around the perimeters of fields so that visitors can stop and look at a field without disrupting the field or crop,” says Kevin.
The downside is that it can restrict business growth to a certain point and can make crop planning difficult due to restrictions on what can be planted.
The upside is that it’s a win for farmers who get extra acres to work on an island where agricultural land is at a premium and it’s a win for the fragile coastline ecosystem. “It’s good to protect the coastline and it gives us a little more freedom in terms of additional land base,” Kevin says.
And this tour-able farmland also fits perfectly with the on-farm cottages that have been welcoming guests since the 1930s.
“It all began when my grandfather started picking up travelling salesmen at the local train station,” says Kevin. His grandfather would bring them up to the farm and they’d rent a room while they toured local stores to sell their wares. “And my grandmother grew up in a hotel in North Rustico, so it was in her blood to run this type of business.”
By the early 1970s, Kevin’s parents, Alvin and Eleanor, decided to branch out and built two cottages. They added a few more in the ’80s and today, there are 10 cottages welcoming guests from around the world. “We have returning guests that have been coming for over 45 years in a row,” says Heather.
The farm and cottage business are run separately.
The farm is run by Kevin and his brother Garth and Garth’s son, Spencer, who has been critical to the farm’s recent growth since Kevin and Garth’s father, Alvin, has stepped back. Spencer graduated from business management, faculty of agriculture at Dalhousie University in 2019 and his return to the farm has reduced the burden on Garth and Kevin. “Since Spencer started working on the farm, it’s given them the ability to farm more land,” says Lance.
“Spencer has taken on the breeding program for the animals as well as the feed and nutrition aspect which has allowed us to pass the torch, so to speak,” Kevin says.
The cottage business was handed over to Kevin, Garth and another brother, Douglas, when their mother passed away in 2021. Alvin, who now lives in a retirement home, is still involved in the decision-making of both businesses.
But as Kevin emphasizes, none of it would happen without their wives, “the backbone of the farm.” Garth’s wife Donna looks after the financial side of the businesses and Heather takes care of reservations and other management aspects of the cottage business. “But between all of us, we alternate who looks after the home farm and who greets guests,” notes Kevin.
Parkview Farms provides guests a unique experience. It’s a “farmer’s dream retreat,” as Kevin jokes because farmers can socialize with one another while the kids pet calves and kittens and then head to the beach.
“People who come to visit us really want to know where their food comes from,” says Heather, a retired schoolteacher. “They’re very interested and quite in awe of the workings of a dairy farm. And the kids just go gaga over the calves,” she says, laughing.
Figuring out the future
The MacNeill dairy is one of the last remaining dairy farms in the Cavendish community.
When I asked them what their vision was for the next generation, Kevin didn’t hesitate to say that they want the farm to remain a traditional family farm. “We want to keep passing it down through the generations,” he says.
“But you’ve also got to look at the financial side of the business. Back in my grandfather’s time, it was a farm, a family farm. When my dad took over, it was a farm with a business. Now, for us, it’s pretty much a business first, a farm second. You have to watch your expenses and your debt load very closely, because if you enlarge it too much the next generation won’t be able to carry the debt due to inflation and the cost of land, equipment and everything. We could end up losing it through just the cost of expenses.”
Growing the farm with traditional values — a good day’s work and little to no debt — is harder to do now. “We’re self-sufficient. We grow everything we need and only buy concentrate,” says Lance. “But if we can’t acquire quota, you can’t grow the dairy aspect. So, where do you grow? Land is limited, so how can you grow in cash crops? And if you can’t profit off the land, if the checks and balances don’t work, does it make sense to try and even push the cash crop end?”
I commented about how tricky it must be for them to lock in on an idea for growth, because the vision is there, but it consists of several pieces from five different puzzles, so they don’t really go together.
“You’re exactly right,” says Kevin with an almost audible sigh. “And then there’s also factoring in the next generation. Older generations lived and died on the farm, but my generation is different from my dad’s who travelled a bit, and my grandfather’s who never travelled. I’m in my 60s and I’d like to travel and Lance’s generation wants to enjoy life more so that puts some stress on the operation.”
“I’ve had a taste of the ‘good life’,” Lance acknowledges. “I’ve worked an eight-to-four job with a decent income. I was able to buy some luxuries and have some fun, and I’d like to travel so I’m like, okay, if I go back to the farm, my paycheque will be cut way back. How can I keep my way of life that I currently have if I’m part of the farm?
“My grandfather would introduce me to guests, and they’d ask, ‘Are you going to farm?’ and he’d say, ‘No, he’s going to be an engineer’,” Lance reminisces. “With three families drawing on the family farm, there wasn’t room for another income, so I got that degree and went to work.
“I enjoy being as involved in the farm as I can be, which can be challenging while working a full-time job off the farm,” Lance says. “I help where I can, which for now is more behind the scenes. If I go back to the farm, my commitments will increase, my finances will likely be adjusted, and it is hard to say how things will change in farming practices in the next few years.”
“So, when it comes down to talking about future planning, well, we need to plan for the next generation and how it will be viable,” Kevin says. “In order to grow the cottage business, we’d have to enhance different things around the farm to draw in more guests.”
And Heather says it’s time for her and Kevin to slow down. “It’s time to bring other ideas on board.”
Lance chuckles and says, “Come up with an idea and have someone tell you ‘no.’ Start talking about the idea and hear the word ‘no.’ Open your mouth and hear ‘no.’ If I had a counter to keep track of all the ‘no’s’ it would have been replaced three times by now. You have to find a way to make them say ‘yes.’ And when you can figure that out, you’re probably on the right track.”
“That also made Lance work harder to get the ‘yes’ right,” says Heather. “Lance has been a visionary. He carries on some of those great qualities his grandfather had. He’s looking at all the different things going on in the world and that come to farming now. He’s always assessing and evaluating and then talking to his dad about it.
“There’s nothing ever wrong in a mistake,” she says. “You’ll learn what you can to make it different the next time. So, you shouldn’t shut down those ideas that are there, percolating.”
Two words kept coming to mind as I chatted with these three: reflective and collaborative. Their vision of what the farm can be is a combination of reflecting on past wins and losses, and collaboration between current family members, incoming members and the two businesses.
“Today’s world is so changeable, so volatile,” Heather says, “that we also have to start to think a little creatively, to assess good risk versus bad, and knowing that sometimes taking a risk is going to bring a certain amount of joy you wouldn’t have had otherwise. A lot of things can happen if you’ve got grit, if you’re a little stubborn. I firmly believe that being creative, visionary, applies as much to farming as it does to anything else in life.”
“If you stay status quo, you’re not going to survive,” says Kevin. “You’ve got to move with the times. Not necessarily as fast as they’re moving, but you have to move.”
