ESTEVAN — Torquay-area producers Rodney and Trina Phillips (RT Phillips Holdings Inc.) have been presented with the 2026 Estevan Farm Family of the Year Award.
The family was recognized at the 2026 Farm Family of the Year Award banquet March 27 at the Beefeater Plaza, with about 175 people in attendance.
A press release from the Estevan Chamber of Commerce says the annual award celebrates the farming families of southeast Saskatchewan whose dedication to the land, their communities and the generations that follow them embody everything that makes agriculture in this region so remarkable.
“The Phillips family, rooted in over a century of farming history, represents exactly the kind of legacy this award was created to honour,” the press release states. “For over a century, the Phillips family has been working the land of southeast Saskatchewan.”
In the family’s acceptance speech, Rodney said they have been coming to the award banquet for about 20 years, and a lot of great family farms have been recognized.
“We’ve watched them tell their stories, so this is truly very special for us,” he said.
Four generations of farming
According to a bio from the chamber, the farm traces its roots to 1916 when Rodney’s great-grandfather John Phillips broke ground, and the farm has grown through four generations into a 9,300-acre grain operation Rodney and Trina Phillips run today. John Phillips passed the torch to his son Joe in 1937, and back then the farm was a full mixed operation with grain, cattle, chickens and pigs, and 11 children helped keep things moving.
When Rodney's father James took over in 1972, James and his brothers Vernon and Kevin kept that same spirit of pitching in for each other. The cattle eventually gave way to strictly grain farming in 1993, and James worked away from the farm at the coal mines until 2008 before going full-time into agriculture. Rodney followed a similar path, purchasing his first quarter in 2001 and going full-time into farming in 2011 after working at Southland Pulse.
“As a kid, I always knew I wanted to farm and just loved it,” he said.
Rodney said there were some rough years, and recalled going to his father around 2007 and asking if it was as good as farming would get.
“He said there are struggles, there are good times as well as bad times. Just stick with it and you’ll be OK,” recalled Rodney. “So I did, and as time went on, the farm started to evolve.”
The year he decided to go into farming full-time proved to be the worst one possible, due to the flood of 2011. They only seeded a third of their acres that year.
“I remember dad, in the middle of June, he came into the yard with the sprayer. He was out for about an hour or two, and came in, parked the sprayer and said ‘That’s it’.”
They tackled some jobs that year that normally don’t get finished, and they prepared the land for the following years. Harvest went quickly. Rodney went to work off the farm that fall and winter, and went back to farming exclusively the following year.
“Since then, we have been growing and going strong,” said Rodney.
Trina taught for 20 years and left the profession to strictly help out at the farm, he said, and Rodney recognizes it was a tough decision.
Children are also involved
The home base sits on the former Gordon Kvammen farm they took over in 2009, though the original ground south of Torquay is still in the rotation, in what the chamber says is a quiet nod to where it all began. James, now retired, still shows up for seeding and harvest, and is always the first one called when something needs fixing.
Rodney and Trina have built a life around the farm with their three kids, Payton, 18, Vayda, 16, and Ethan, 14.
“Payton is already deep into it, helping on the farm and working at Southland Pulse, with plans to head to Australia this fall for harvest. Vayda juggles Grade 11 with babysitting and badminton, and Ethan, in Grade 8, will play just about any sport you put in front of him. The kids are involved however they're needed, running equipment, doing yard work, getting parts or just showing up when an extra set of hands makes the difference,” the bio states.
The farm grows durum, canola, peas, lentils and mustard, and the year never really stops, the bio stated. Spring through fall is a full sprint, and winter is for planning, moving grain, and getting equipment ready to do it all again.
Rodney says seeding is his favourite part, because "That's where it all starts”.
"So special and precious"
Beyond the farm, Rodney has been a fixture in the Torquay community for decades, with 25 years with the community club, including time as president. He also spent six years as a village councillor, four on the RM council, and stints on both the rink board and the hospital board. He spent more than 20 years with the volunteer fire department. Rodney spent most of his kids' childhoods coaching them in hockey too.
Trina added raising the family on the farm has been “so special and precious”, because they see how close the kids have become through spending so much time together.
“There’s always going to be change, and change is good, but remembering the past is good, too,” added Rodney.
He also thanked all of the help they have had over the years.
Being named Farm Family of the Year is an honour the Phillips family doesn't take lightly, but what means just as much to Rodney is the event itself, the way it brings farming families together and celebrates what this life is really about.
His advice for the next generation is straightforward: gather all the information you can, but trust yourself to make the call that's right for the farm.
The peace and quiet of making a living here makes the time and effort worth it.
Phillips concluded by wishing everyone the best of luck this year.
Rodney’s parents, James and Sharri, were unable to attend but sent a letter of congratulations. They noted the farm has gone through a lot of changes over the generations, and now Rodney has taken the operation to a new levels.
“Rodney started working on the farm at a very young age like most boys did, and I knew right away he was going to take this path, as he was a natural. As he grew into it, he took on more and more responsibility in selling the grain and buying fertilizer and chemicals,” said James.
James noted if Joe Phillips could have seen the changes in farming in the last 15 years, he would be amazed. James praised Rodney’s ability to keep pace with technology, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides to stay one step ahead of disease, and pesticides to keep insects at bay.
Event MC Alex Clarke said a farm family is more than a name on a yard sign or acres on a map. They work early mornings and late nights, they show resilience in the face of uncertainty and pride in work that often goes unseen.
“It’s generations learning from one another, passing down not just lands but values like hard work, integrity, responsibility and a deep respect for the land and the animals that sustain us," said Clarke.
