In The Beginning
Ernest Price from Wyoming, USA, filed his homestead on W ½ –9–34–21–W4 in the fall of 1908. In 1920, Ernest sold his land to Albian Sandberg. Nineteen years later, in September, 1939, Albert McNaughton purchased this land with a standing crop on it. In 1941, Albert married Anne Thomas and they raised their family of five here.
1921
In 1969, Mel and Dariel (Peters) McNaughton were married and purchased their first plot of land from Albert and Anne, starting their farming career, adding more land base and renting land as well. There were cattle, hogs, and a mixed grain operation at this time. Mel’s parents moved a mobile home close by and there were now two generations farming the land. In the later 1970’s, Albert and Anne alternately spent six months in Arizona and six months at the farm. |
1955
1965
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1980's |
Mark, Curt, and Tanya – Mel and Dariel’s children – were born during the early 1970’s. Many changes were made to the farm site over the course of the years. New crops and cropping methods were introduced. |
Initially, the farm raised cattle, but due to the pasture land shortage we built a 60 sow farrow-to-finish hog barn in December, 1982. In 1984, the cattle were all sold.
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1984 |
In 1991, Curt became involved in a joint venture with his parents and moved back to the farm. Albert and Anne moved to Sundre, Alberta. In 1993, Mark married Sandy Lacher and in the spring of 1994, they moved to the farm and lived in the grandparent’s home. A no till farming practice was in full swing and a Hagi high clearance sprayer was purchased. Mark and Curt operated a custom spraying business for several years. They custom built a trailer to haul the sprayer and tanks.
1993 |
Hagi Sprayer
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Tanya was married in 1996 to Brent Little of Trochu and they are raising their family of four at Trochu, Alberta. In 1996 a grain handling system and a grain dryer was set up at the farm site. November 1997, Curt married Michele Saboe and they have since built a home and live one mile west of the original site.
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1997 |
After 30 years of raising hogs, the decision was made to turn the barns into a fish rearing facility. Mark and Curt did many hours of research to come to this decision. March of 1999 saw the last of the hogs, and renovations were made to accommodate the first trout eggs in the barn. At this time there were 14 fiberglass tanks in the original hog barn. Trout were raised for pond stocking. The farm was incorporated into MDM Aqua Farms. In 2001, Tilapia became the fish of choice, and minor changes were made to suit the warm water environment for these fish. They are delivered to live markets in Calgary and Edmonton.
1999
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Red Tilapia |
Year 2000 and Onward
2002 –Eight more fiberglass tanks were added in the grower section of the original hog barn for expansion.
 
A small greenhouse was also added to the south side of the fish barn and are dabbling in aquaponics, raising tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers.
2006 – A completely new barn with its own recirculating system was built for rearing the baby tilapia to a certain size before moving them to the main barn.
 
2009 – Seeding with a 60 foot Morris Contour drill using the ConservaPak tank begins.
2010 – Started spraying with a Case sprayer.
At present, Mel and Dariel have nine grandchildren, ranging in age from four to fourteen years of age. The oldest of the younger generation are starting to become involved in the farming operation. Those that do not live on “The Farm” are eager to visit.
The family members continue to take ongoing educational courses. All are highly involved in community events and enjoy living in the Rumsey, Alberta area.
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