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Ceylon area rancher wins the Golden Sheaf award

The 16th Annual Golden Sheaf Award was awarded by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce to Ceylon-area rancher Keith Kaufmann. The award was presented at Farmer Appreciation Night on Nov. 2 at McKenna Hall.



The 16th Annual Golden Sheaf Award was awarded by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce to Ceylon-area rancher Keith Kaufmann. The award was presented at Farmer Appreciation Night on Nov. 2 at McKenna Hall. The purpose of the evening was to acknowledge and award agricultural contributions in Weyburn and area by presenting a local farmer with the Golden Sheaf Award, which is given based on a farmer's contribution and participation in the agricultural industry and community life.

Keith grew up on the farm which he currently owns and operates with his wife Linda, son Shane and his wife Alexis. Keith's daughter, Stacey, also comes out to the farm to help.

His farming and ranching career began in 1971 with six quarters of land and 25 head of cow. Today his ranch is known as South View Ranch and has expanded to 55 quarters of land and 500 cattle. His ranch earned an award in 2009 for Saskatchewan Purebred Breeder of the Year.

Through the years, Keith has been very involved with the community and served on many boards. He has worked with Ducks Unlimited and reports any ground owls to Nature Saskatchewan. He has received recognition from Saskatchewan Watershed Authority and the Government of Canada Habitat Stewardship Program for Improving Piping Plover Habitat.

Keith has also been a director for the Saskatchewan Angus Association and the Canadian Angus Association, Angus representative on the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, council representative on the local area Veterinary Board, and RM councillor and currently Reeve for the RM of The Gap.

He has also been a Ceylon Regional Park board member for the past 30 years. In addition to this community involvement, Keith coached minor hockey and helped with both the Ceylon 4-H Light Horse Club and the Radville 4-H Beef Club for 10 years while his children were members.

The largest initiative Keith had ever taken on was the idea and construction of Border Line Feeders Inc., a locally-owned feedlot just three miles south of Ceylon. It started out with 7,300 head of cattle and has expanded to 12,000 head. The final phase will be to expand to 20,000 head. Keith is currently President of Border Line Feeders Inc., which has benefited the community with employment, marketing options from grain and forage and fertilizer for the land.

Keith was shocked when his name was called as the winner of the 2010 Golden Sheaf Award. "I'm just kind of at a loss for words at the moment. I never expected anything like this," he said.

In addition to winning the Golden Sheaf Award, Border Line Feeders Inc. was recently presented with the Community Involvement Award at the ABEX Awards which were held on Oct. 30 in Regina. They were also a finalist in the Customer Service category at the ABEX Awards as well.

Winning these awards is "fantastic," Keith commented. "It feels good anytime people recognize you for your accomplishments over the years. There's so many people behind it that made it work. No one person can do this kind of stuff. It takes the community."

The Golden Sheaf Award has been given out every year since 1994 to deserving Weyburn and area residents who contribute to the community and agricultural sector.