Twenty years ago, Nichole Neubauer had a simple idea: invite a kindergarten class to her family’s farm and let kids discover where their food is from. That one field trip has since grown into something remarkable. To date, Neubauer Farms has welcomed more than 23,000 students to its fields in Cypress County in southeast Alberta. Just last year, Neubauer was recognized with an Alberta Order of Excellence for her trailblazing work bridging the urban-rural divide.

Established in 1910, the family farm is now in its fifth generation. Neubauer, her husband Mark and their adult children manage three parcels of land, located east of Medicine Hat. They include irrigated acres, floodplain, dry-land cropland and native pastures. The diversity of planting is strategic: the variety helps safeguard against drought.

What sets Neubauer Farms apart, though, isn’t its blazing yellow canola fields or thriving cattle herds. It’s the mission — one that goes far beyond their own farm. In partnership with Prairie Rose Public Schools, the Neubauers have established an Agriculture Discovery Centre at the playground of Irvine School and developed curriculum-aligned programming, helping thousands of children understand the origins of their food.