The name "Klaiber" is well-known in Strathmore; as a proud and respected family name in the community, the Klaibers have long been an influential and big part of Strathmore's history.

Moving to Strathmore in 1947, Bruce Klaiber has been involved in many ways in our community, and he hopes to bring a project that could change the future of not just Strathmore, but potentially farming as well.

The Legacy Farm project is the most recent initiative Klaiber has taken on, and one of its main goals is taking a big step forward by reaching back into the past. Referring to Strathmore as an agriculturalist Mecca in the past, Klaiber hopes to bring farming innovations back to Strathmore to once again make it a popular agri-hub.

"We (Legacy Farm project organizers) said let's make this world-noted again. Let's make it a place where not only people from Strathmore and the county and the region come... people from the province, from around the province, out of the province and even out of the country should know about this and know about its importance," Klaiber said.

The project is built on three pillars, being:

  1. History
  2. Agriculture. This too is broken into three parts, being past, present, and future
  3. Tourism

With the three pillars established, how will the Legacy Farm be shaped? This is where Legacy Farms Director of Business Development Scott Silva steps in. Joining the project in January 2023, Silva is working with Klaiber and all other project members to shape the vision and goals of how exactly the Farm will look.

1. History

As mentioned above, embracing Strathmore's history is key to this project. The idea of Legacy Farm was born when Klaiber's youngest daughter got married seven years ago in the barn. This brought about the idea that the barn could be much more than just a barn, and it soon became a community and venue space. This combined celebrating the history of Strathmore through a historic building like the barn through modern events, and from this, the grand plan of Legacy Farm came to be.

Embracing Strathmore's history as an agriculturalist Mecca and hoping to return to that is another huge way history is playing a role in shaping the project.

2. Agriculture

Regarding the Mecca idea, Klaiber and Silva once again want to make Strathmore the place to be for farming innovation. This is seen through the Green Horizon Industrial Park, a cutting-edge Agri-industry development that prioritizes sustainable innovation, biological carbon sequestration, and co-generation of electricity.

"We want to be able to write the next 100 years of history of farming right here in Strathmore by using modern farming practices and also going back to some of our roots," Silva said.

This is just a small sample of all the initiatives and projects the Green Horizon Industrial Park hopes to be a part of, as Silva also mentioned things like lower electricity rates, closed-loop systems, and more. Innovation isn't just limited to technology though.

"Whispering Cedars Ranch, this local family-run first-generation sheep farm will provide vegetation management to the Green Horizon Industrial Park and the Legacy Farm barn initiative while reducing mechanical requirements, fertilizing the site, and sequestering carbon," Silva said. 

3. Tourism

As mentioned earlier, the barn where Klaiber's daughter got married has since become a popular venue for many events, so this is one of the main ways tourism is integrated in the Legacy Farm project. However, it isn't just limited to this. By becoming an agri-hub of innovation and driving farming technology and techniques into the future, this will naturally draw people to the community. Even if someone visits Strathmore without the intent of tourism and it's strictly business, the act of coming here and seeing what else Strathmore has to offer could boost tourism both inside and outside of the Legacy Farm itself.

When can we expect this to become a reality?

Silva said the expected timeline of project completion is 7-10 years, but that doesn't mean we have to wait that long until we start seeing the benefits.

The project is being done in phases, with the first phase focusing on the Green Horizon Industrial Park. Lots will be available for sale within the next 60-90 days, so it's possible the industrial park will be open in the near future.

Silva and Klaiber mentioned and thanked many people who are involved in the project; without them Legacy Farm wouldn't be where it is today. They are:

  • Tom Sadler
  • Rhonda Stockwell
  • Valerie Christie
  • Darlene Domaschuk
  • Michael Von Hausen
  • The Western District Historical Society
  • MVH Urban Planning
  • Engineering firms Civil Tec and Hassan Karim
  • Ryan and Janna Greir of Whispering Cedars Ranch
  • Rob McDonald
  • Paula Beekman of Four Sisters Kitchen and Farm
  • Spencer Hilton of Hilton Ventures and Origin Malting. "Our Family immigrated to Strathmore in 1910, got off the train and were immediately introduced to all aspects of Agriculture Life, thanks to the 'state of the art' Demonstration Farm. Officially known as the “Canadian Pacific Railway – Supply Farm #1”.  For our family and many others that came, we are still here, raising our families and working in Agriculture and food production, well over 100 years later," Hilton said.

Through the combined effort of these people and many more, Silva and Klaiber believe this could change Strathmore forever.

"We will be able to showcase the past, present and future farming with roadside attractions, overnight accommodations, paid experiences, interactive education and so much more," Silva said. 

You can learn more about the project at the following links:

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