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r will growth spell end for farming 4 b from farm page 2 the schickedanz family runs the biggest agricultural operation in markham on 300 acres they own at major mackenzie between warden and woodbine aves they have 750 head of beef cattle and also breed sport horses for trakehner son arthur works the farm with help from his sis ter charlotte and five employees and while the farm is really their home base the family has diversified and is active in construction and develop ment both here and in the us because of that the schickedanzs have probably the best of both worlds arthurs brothers and cousins remain in the development industry and they may end up developing their own land we still run it as a family farm but our future here is limited said arthur adding the family will eventually pack up and move somewhere else maybe north maybe the us he gives it 10 years at the outside bob reesor said he used to lose sleep over it but hes given up fighting for agriculture in the town in my lifetime farming in markham will be gone except for a few bits and pieces predicted reesor 36 who works at ontario hydro and farms with his father on reesor rd that family farm was sold to the government in 1 97 1 and reesor main tains his father was told the area would be a greenbelt forever now he said probably the only rea son theres still farmland in the eastern end of markham is the government owned most of it reesor said he fought the cornell development at ninth line and hwy 7 and was on an antilandfill committee for one meeting because a dump was going to consume farms and cre ate noise and traffic but developing cornelr rsjust doing thesame thing he 4 argued adding hed rather see a dump there at ieast its something useful the 407 is probably going to be the last nail in the coffin he added political pressure to develop land is very strong and it doesnt mean did- dlely when politicians serve up plati tudes about preserving the land said burkholder im not dreaming anymore about markham staying in agriculture for generations to come he said wring ing and twisting a cob of corn in his hands that is not going to happen the roman family has lived in markham since the mid50s mining magnate stephen roman was a world- renowned holstein breeder and won numerous prizes at the royal agricul tural winter fair crops on the land in the victoria square area were strictly for the sustenance of the 200 or 300 cows they owned the herd was sold in the early 90s said his daughter helen romanbarber my father was a genius at breeding holsteins and i dont think any of us inherited those genes everybody wanted to keep the cows but we real ized it was not the right thing to do in the next 1 5 years the 6000 acres of prime farmland surrounding markham will house close to 50000 people the benefits are more housing services and increased commerce the value of markham s farmland has increased exponentially the effects on agriculture however will be devastating farmers say but most seem willing to stick it out as long as they can with the value of the land its almost ridiculous to be here said schickedanz but its a good life and thats the bottom line tile iqto ox i kipg david h a markham m this map shows the areas designated by the town of markham for future development the greeen areas all agricultural land will soon be home to close to 50000 people the blue areas have yet to be approved by the region for development families cope with new reality from farm page 2 b themselves it was a massive amount of work more than 100 cows at least half milkers albert wouldnt have sold she admits but i said to the boys i cant do this anymore i want to get out of it the deal closed in july brian will use the money to buy another farm she said barry will stay here and ill stay with barry i have lived all my life within a mile of this spot and i dont want to move of course this is the saving grace for farmers struggling with this very same decision the choice is made easier by the fact the land is so valuable people can retire on it they can buy another farm they can start a new life don miller and his wife dee work the same 100 acres his family has owned since 1869 on their home farm ashlane farms at mccowan north of elgin mills miller milked cows for 45 of his 67 years until seven years ago when he and his daughter came up with an inno vative plan beverly and sonin law randy lee bought 300 acres in listow- el in partnership with miller miller raises young cattle and when theyre ready to milk he brings them thousands visited massey- ferguson farm but machine test track was offlimits only a few were allowed beyond the gate masseyferguson kept its markham test track off limits for more than three decades experiments were done there on the coldest nights of winter strengths and weak nesses of competitors machines were found production errors were fixed arid new designs showed promise or the world never saw them if you had no business being there the bar rier didnt go up said stew allan its manag er for 30 years masseyharris later masseyferguson put the track in a corner of its 1000acre milliken farm in the mid50s and it was serious about security the giant manufacturer came to rely on what the crew was finding out things other makers of farm machinery wanted to know too in fact we saw the odd helicopter flying around with cameras recalled bill suther land manager of the farm outside the 14acre track the mf farm east of warden ave and north of steeles was a showcase for bus tours and visiting farmers from anywhere a training ground for sales men a convenient backdrop for promotional photos it was not a show place the company lit- t ierature insisted but a practical farmers farm where visitors are always welcome markhams farming heritage an mf promotional shot from the 1950s showing the farm managers house formerly the home of hagcrman farmer clark young hours a day putting equipment through more abuse than it would get on any farm they did call it the torture track and it was a torture to the human body as well carmen ganglia a markham man who joined the operation at age learning it inside out and reporting daily they would not come home for three months though the summer trek was only five weeks later on it was still too long for many the man that was settled allan recalled was not likely an employee that would stay with us cariglia who got married did my wife had to cope and she coped very well after years of these track and field tests markham farmers often got a chance to test models themselves the mf farm was sold in the 70s but the test track surrounded by new homes continued running until 1985 one failedexperiment put a hovercraft cush ion on a rice harvester but perhaps the idea was ahead of its time said cariglia we often tried things and then dropped them once the crew had to anchor a rice harvester in a hole during a bitterly cold winter and run it for months to see how fast the specially heated mud would seep into the machinery i over three decades id say they were lucky no one was seriously hurt allan said mikeadler photos courtesy of bill sutherland vr ipsc northwest ive been milking since i was a boy ive been tied down seven days a week and im ready to ease up i didnt want to sell the cows and this is good for all of us miller said miller is typical of many markham farmers indeed farmers all over this country hes getting older his chil dren arent working the farm and have pursued other careers but he worries what will happen if he gets sick or takes a fall we hope to stay as long as possible after that well i dont like to think about it he said i wouldnt like to live anywhere but here but it seems inevitable that eventually this land will have to be sold thats the sad part and he points out that while most farmers would like to stay they just cant afford it his daughter paid 2000 an acre in listowel the going rate in markham driven up by devel opment and the insatiable demand for homes is 560000 an acre its simply beyond them when youre staring millions of dollars in the face money that will be your childrens and grandchildrens what do you do you can sit here until there are houses all around you but is it much fun to farm in a subdivision to take tractors on the road with all the traffic is frustrating and dangerous no one wants to wait for you those are the things that force you out the becketts are a wellknown name in markham agriculture and markham history their family farm about 200 acres is one of the most visible in town on 16th ave between kennedy rd and mccowan and they have been there since 1917 brothers lawrence and ross work the land as their father frank and grandfather charlie did in years gone by although they intend to stay the becketts may be forced to make a decision before other farmers those farther north do homes are going up all around them we have no idea what will happen in the future well have to make that decision when the time comes ross said but for the becketts for all of them that time will likely be sooner rather than later kathleen griffin acknowledgements our grateful thanks are extend ed to the many markham resi dents who spoke with us for this section special thanks and appreciation to lome smith markham historian without whose help and insight this project would not have been possible