Congratulations to the Michalchuk family, this year's County of Northern Lights Farm Family Award recipients!
Michalchuk Farm Family History, provided by Joanne Michalchuk;
"The Michalchuk family farm is located in the Keg River area and has been in operation since 1939, when Annie and Mike Michalchuk immigrated from Ukraine and homesteaded in the region. They began with a quarter section of land and, through determination and hard work, gradually developed it into a grain and cattle operation while raising their eight children.
Two of their sons, Larry and Fred, farmed alongside their father until his passing in 1979. During this period, they combined farming with the ownership and operation of an oilfield construction business while continuing to operate the farm. Fred remained actively involved in the farm until his passing in 2012.
Larry married Jo-Ann Galandy, a local from Keg-River, who played an important role in maintaining the farm. She raised their three children while supporting the cattle operation, tending large gardens, and preparing meals for the field crew during the busy seasons.
Larry and Jo-Ann’s children were raised with a strong love of farming and animals, spending much of their childhood helping with farm work. Their daughter Tanya remains connected to the farm and helps when she can alongside her partner John, while also running her own safety business and farm in Grande Prairie. Their son David maintained a close tie to the farm throughout his life, working in the oilfield while returning for seeding, harvest, and calving whenever possible. In 2017, he returned to farm full-time alongside his father, and continues the family’s farming legacy today, with support from his wife Joanne.
The grand-children, Cody and Tyler, Jordan and Janessa- along with their families, remain closely connected to the farm and continue to help during busy seasons. Their involvement reflects strong family ties and a shared pride in continuing the farm’s legacy.
Today, the farm is operated by Larry Michalchuk and his son David. The operation includes approximately 6,000 acres of canola and cereal crops, and a commercial herd of around 400 Black Angus and Simmental cattle. Over the past five years, David has also expanded into the purebred cattle industry through D.A.M. Livestock.
Their operation is supported by two full-time employees Oleksii and Olena, distant relatives from Ukraine who moved to Canada just before the war began and now play an important role in day-to-day operations. Larry’s sister Helen has also been a steady presence over the years, looking after the books and payroll, with additional seasonal help joining during seeding and harvest.
Family has always been at the heart of the Michalchuk operation. Larry and David take great pride in providing a lifestyle where their children and grandchildren can learn the value of hard work while developing a love for animals and the land.
More than eight decades after Annie and Mike first arrived in the Keg River area, the family continues to build on the legacy they began. They are proud of the generations of hard work that have shaped the farm and grateful for the early settlers whose determination made this way of life possible, allowing it to continue for generations to come."