This five-part series features farm families leading change through bold decisions on family planning, new ventures, revenue diversification, innovation and business operations. Read parts one and two here.
Cebulak Family Farms is a fruit, vegetable and cash crop farm owned and operated by brothers Blaine and Leonard Cebulak alongside their next generation: Nathan, Andrew, Derek and Shawn.
Quality control is at the core of the of the Cebulak family’s success. Whether expanding current operations or trying a new business venture, the Cebulaks insist on excellence. It is the source of their passion in agriculture.
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Even so, the business has needed to expand so it can accommodate the next generation of owners, and the family has opted to take some bold risks to find new revenue streams.
This is most evident in the investment made in new crops over recent years. The farm has primarily focused on ginseng and tobacco in the past, but has now incorporated a variety of other crops into the mix, most recently including strawberries and asparagus.
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These new crops bring with them a need for significant time and resources, and also a bit of good luck to be successful. Early seasons have seen droughts, floods, hail damage and changing markets — all acting as barriers to success — but that does not stop this family. They persevere.
“We pride ourselves on the quality of what we produce,” says Shawn. “We don’t cut corners just to make things easier for ourselves.” This commitment to quality is passed down through the generations. Blaine and Leonard emphasize that they may never achieve perfection on the farm as there are always ways they can improve, but they will always keep striving for it.
In addition to new crops the family has also been able to leverage the strengths of each family member in order to become more efficient. “Many brothers wouldn’t be able to work together like we have, and we’re confident in the talents that each of the boys bring to the table,” says Leonard.
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The level of trust between family members is certainly another driver for the success of the group. “Everyone here has been successful in their own areas and decided to come back to the farm to help push the boundaries,” notes Derek, who wants to ensure that the standards set by previous generations will continue to drive the success of the farm.
“I wanted my kids to grow up how I did and to learn to understand the value of hard work, money and ethics,” Leonard says. “My goal is to continue farming to help set that example and hopefully it will follow.”
This is another area where the Cebulaks are raising the bar. Not only is the family looking to continually improve their current business performance but they are also keeping an eye on the longevity of the business by planning for the current and future succession of the farm. When dealing with their current succession planning, the family all agree that the priorities are around taking care of the exiting generation, while simultaneously ensuring a seamless transition to future generations.
When asked about recent upgrades to operations, Nathan replies “I’m proud of the strides we have made in our business operations. We’ve formalized more of our processes across the board from cost tracking through to our labour management practices and we’ve started to see these efforts pay off.”
The modernization of business practices also left the family in a position more suited to be able to adapt to change such as during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. With their seasonal staff of over 70 workers, the pandemic placed an additional strain on the family due to the many changes and additional resources needed for managing, housing and isolating such a large staff.
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The key theme that has emerged during our time working with the Cebulak family so far has been the acceptance of risk, and the desire to be bold in business planning and continued expansion.
This was highlighted by Andrew saying “Our family has built something great but we need to keep pushing forward and expanding. We can’t just sit where we are, we need to keep finding new crops and new markets to pursue.”
Faced with the same challenges, many farms would play it safe and stick with what they already know, an approach that certainly has merits of it own.
The deep trust they have in each other has created a winning mentality amongst the members of the family. “If we put our heads together as a family there is no challenge that we can’t overcome.” This attitude has given them an ability to take on new challenges with the confidence needed to drive success and ensure that the legacy of their family farm can continue on for future generations.
