Andre Grueneberg:
CLASS OF 1974
Chomedey Polyvalent High SchoolClass of 1974
Laval, QC
Macdonald CollegeClass of 1983
Ste. anne de bellevue, QC
Vanier CollegeClass of 1978
St. laurent, QC
T.H. Bowes Elementary SchoolClass of 1970
Laval, QC
Prince Charles Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Laval, QC
Andre's Story
A condensed version of my insane life!
I became interested in "alternative agriculture" when I started CEGEP, changing directions several times until I transfered from downtown McGill to Macdonald College. I took the Diploma in Agriculture, got a year's credit towards a Degree in Plant Science (2 years). I travelled to Germany to spend a year recovering from school, met a vinyard owners daugther, loved the livestyle, almost married her, came back home and started my career in agribusiness. Ended up working for Monsanto, a giant agrichemical corporation in London, Ont. Was transferred to Edmonton just as I was getting married to Mary Ellen whom I met on a ski trip while in Ontario. My career took led me to become sales manager at a privately owned fertilizer retail in the Edmonton area, and from there to Calgary working for the Alberta Wheat Pool in marketting. Restructuring after 4 months on the job led huge huge financial losses and a move to Prince Albert, SK, working for Cyanamid, another chemical company in sales. That lasted another 4 years until another restructuring. More financial losses. A move back to Edmonton followed, where I worked for Prairie Seeds, a small regional seed company for 10 years. In the meantime we also bought a small farm outside of Edmonton, and the learning and disaster curve continued. The farm was originally a hog finishing operation where we contracted production with a large Alberta company. Their integrity and their 5 year production contracts weren't worth the paper they were written on, and that contract fell apart, more money lost. Mary Ellen's career in ultrasound and hospital management came to an end at this time due to a work related long term disability that had developed over the years. An eigth year battle with WCB (known by us as Legalized Organized Crime Crime) began until they were finally forced to pay up. That almost sunk us financially a few times..Eventually I got tired of the sales and marketing career and made what I thought was ...Expand for more
a long term career change into teaching agriculture at Olds College. I should have known that luck wouldn't follow me! 1 year after I started, the job disappeared due to lack of enrollment..
Needless to say, I was getting ried working for others! The disasters were not over though.After our broken contract with the hog finishing company, we renovated the facilities again and converted to fertilized duck egg production. Things were eventually looking much better, when you guessed it, we had more problems. Our egg production crashed and we had to destroy most of our flock. Eventually it was determined that the problems stemmed from ongoing feed problems thanks to our multinational feed supplier. Our biggest loss yet and we sued them since small businesses don't need their complaints dealt with.
From these experiences we learned to avoid working for or with or buy anything from large corporations. We have struggled to survive and have reinvented ourselves many times over. We still have the farm - it is the only thing we do. We have invented a niche market business called GREENS, EGGS & HAM specializing in odd, unusual and heritage vegetables, duck and other fowl, high end charcuterie and duck eggs. We market directly to the restaurant trade, farmers market, and selct retail. Our "fame" is growing in the Edmonton area, the Rocky Mountain Parks and Calgary area. We have received a huge amount of media attention over the years, but as I always say: the expression is RICH?
Through all of these nightmares, MAry Ellen and I have stayed together, and we have had two daughters. Ariana is 19 and wants to farm - we call her the turkey whisperer. Megan is 17 and is into parrots and birds in particular and nature and the environment in general. We own 9 parrots, 3 dogs, 3 cats, a house rabbit and about 60 outdoor pets of the fowl persuassion. Our farm is still a work in progress (a dump) but visitors seem to like it. We continue to hope for better luck next year... I would love to hear your story.
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