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Back to their Roots, Again
Darren Sander Farmland Real Estate welcomes the family's fifth generation into Canadian agri-business as Darren's son Tyler comes aboard.
By Natalie Noble
Canadians and people around the world are catching on to "Canada's best kept secret," according to Darren Sander. Saskatoon-based farmiand realtor. "We have the most undervalued land in the country here in Saskatchewan, but we're now on the radar. It's one of the reasons our sales here have been so active." says Darren. It's a great place to live, raise a family and you can't beat the people here." Darren, born and raised on his family's Wilkie, Sask. farm, is the fourth generation of Sanders to work in agriculture.
This year, he officially welcomes the family's fifth generation into an ag-based business as his son Tyler, aiso a realtor, joins Darren Sander Farmland Real Estate, The Sanders hold a special place in their hearts for what farmers go through when they sell their land. "When you come to someone's door to sell their farm, it's different than selling a home," says Darren. "You're selling someone's life's work, likely generations of it. It doesn't matter if we're selling five or 50 quarters, it's always an emotional journey.
"You're selling someone's life's work, likely generations of it. It doesn't matter if we're selling five or 50 quarters, it's always an emotional journey." - Darren Sander
When Darren's parents moved the family to Saskatoon as he started sixth grade, his father commuted to run the farm in the summers. "It's funny, when we started operating my custom harvesting business in 1990, my life mirrored that again," says Darren. "We'd be somewhere across Canada and the U.S., all the way down into Texas harvesting crops for farmers throughout the summer, spending winters in the city.
Darren, his wife and their three children would travel to each taim staying in a sun. kv, bring no tractors, gran carts and running four-to-six combines as a support network for each client's harvest. "We harvested close to a million acres over those 17 years. We saw a lot of land and dealt with a lot of farmers," says Darren.
Tyler and his sisters learned the value of hard work by spending time on various north American farms unti Darren exited custom harvesting in 2007. "When I stopped, I found working those farms was not just what I did, it's who l am," says Darren. "That's what led me back into the industry and selling farmland. It felt like I'd taken a 17-year intensive course on farmland and I missed dealing with farmers."
Shifting into farmland real estate, Darren had already built a strong network of farm contacts and feels fortunate to have sold a lot of land on behalf his valued farm clients, small and large. His biggest buyer group includes farmers already operating near the sale property or those relocating to set up a new farm. He's also dealt with investors and out of province buyers.
"We just sold a 5.000-acre tract of land in Watson. Sask. to a large investor in Ontario looking to expand their land base” says Darren "we completed a very large farm sale for a South African client a couple of years ago. We've been fortunate to have some great success, but it all goes back to dealing with farmers."
Tyler also brings that love of farming and his dad's work ethic to the business. "I grew up seeing my dad get up for combining as six a.m. and running until two a.m. I thought that was the norm and how everyone worked," says Tyler. "We learned early to value our friendships within our family and all the farm familes we were working with It's certainly rubbed off on the Sander kids. Tyler ran combine from ages 11-15 and loved spending time with farmers. After high school he worked construction and then in the trades for several years. “I enjoyed being outside, but I didn’t fell this work was my long-term career," he says. "I realized I wanted a real estate career where I could sell farmland. I completed my course and earned my license while working full time."
Tyler's presence opens new doors including a larger focus on technology and digital marketing, something Darren’s never needed to lean into thanks to his existing network. "I'm planning to capture a lot of our work and what these farmers have built on film. We’d like to provide this back to the farmers we works with,” says Tyler. “ill also be posting this content on our social media”.
Tyler also brings a residential real estate focus in addition to farmland transactions. "Working beside my dad again is going to be awesome," he says. "All of the knowledge we have built up from our family's experience and history in farming, we're excited to put it to good use and see what the future holds for us."
It's another full-circle shift for the Sander family. "Here we are, back to dealing with farmers," says Darren. "We understand their challenges and pressures. We've been able to execute their sales or find farms that are a great fit for them. Building these strong relationships is what we love to do."
