Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Never underestimate how evocative your part of the world will be to people from afar.
That is a lesson which resonates in Bob and Charlene Siemans’ mind every time they get an inquiry from a potential guest.
Charlene and her husband own the Longview Bed and Breakfast in Fiske.
“We quit grain farming about 10 years ago, and all our land has been reseeded to tame grass,” Charlene Sieman says. “The conversion has been a gradual process. We have light soil that is very sandy. When we saw the land blow away in the ‘80s, it got us thinking about where the future lay for us.
“We now run about 100 cows that we work through the rhythms of nature as much as possible. The cows calve in April or May on green grass out in the open. This means we don’t get up in the middle of the night to check on them. The cows go through calving pretty much on their own.”
The Siemans have established a rotational grazing system on their land and the cattle graze out there most of the year, with the occasional bales fed to them during the winter months.
A few years ago, the family developed an interest in welcoming guests at a three-bedroom house they have in the yard, just on the other side of the garden. As Charlene started to market this experience, the Siemans’ witnessed some enthusiastic responses.
“What we offer is more of an autonomous stay in the rented house,” Sieman explains. “People have their privacy in their own house—their temporary homestead of a sort—but they still come have breakfast with us in the morning. There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning with the sound of the rooster in the summer.
“We get a lot of seniors and empty nesters, as well as young families seeking a unique experience. Most of them are city people. Their visits always lead to some pretty intense discussions around food and agriculture. In many ways, the urban guests we welcome here know a lot more about the issues and challenges we face on the farm than one would think.”
The real icebreaker is always breakfast time.
“The eggs we serve are from farm-raised chicken, as is almost every bit of food we serve: fresh baking, muffins, homemade bread, jams made from fruits grown in our raspberry or strawberry patch.”
What does Charlene Sieman like most about this business?
“Just meeting all these people. They come and bring their holidays to us. I find we get over the trivial conversations and into more meaningful topics real quick. Somehow, it makes us appreciate even more the lifestyle and the economic activity we have chosen for ourselves—it makes it all worth it.”
For more information, contact:
Charlene Siemans
Longview Bed and Breakfast
(306) 377-4786
http://www.bbcanada.com/1702.html
Never underestimate how evocative your part of the world will be to people from afar.
That is a lesson which resonates in Bob and Charlene Siemans’ mind every time they get an inquiry from a potential guest.
Charlene and her husband own the Longview Bed and Breakfast in Fiske.
“We quit grain farming about 10 years ago, and all our land has been reseeded to tame grass,” Charlene Sieman says. “The conversion has been a gradual process. We have light soil that is very sandy. When we saw the land blow away in the ‘80s, it got us thinking about where the future lay for us.
“We now run about 100 cows that we work through the rhythms of nature as much as possible. The cows calve in April or May on green grass out in the open. This means we don’t get up in the middle of the night to check on them. The cows go through calving pretty much on their own.”
The Siemans have established a rotational grazing system on their land and the cattle graze out there most of the year, with the occasional bales fed to them during the winter months.
A few years ago, the family developed an interest in welcoming guests at a three-bedroom house they have in the yard, just on the other side of the garden. As Charlene started to market this experience, the Siemans’ witnessed some enthusiastic responses.
“What we offer is more of an autonomous stay in the rented house,” Sieman explains. “People have their privacy in their own house—their temporary homestead of a sort—but they still come have breakfast with us in the morning. There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning with the sound of the rooster in the summer.
“We get a lot of seniors and empty nesters, as well as young families seeking a unique experience. Most of them are city people. Their visits always lead to some pretty intense discussions around food and agriculture. In many ways, the urban guests we welcome here know a lot more about the issues and challenges we face on the farm than one would think.”
The real icebreaker is always breakfast time.
“The eggs we serve are from farm-raised chicken, as is almost every bit of food we serve: fresh baking, muffins, homemade bread, jams made from fruits grown in our raspberry or strawberry patch.”
What does Charlene Sieman like most about this business?
“Just meeting all these people. They come and bring their holidays to us. I find we get over the trivial conversations and into more meaningful topics real quick. Somehow, it makes us appreciate even more the lifestyle and the economic activity we have chosen for ourselves—it makes it all worth it.”
For more information, contact:
Charlene Siemans
Longview Bed and Breakfast
(306) 377-4786
http://www.bbcanada.com/1702.html
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