P.E.I. farm family wins national award

A P.E.I. couple are overwhelmed after being named Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers, along with a couple from Manitoba.

'We were competing against so many wonderful people.' — Tania MacKenzie

Tania and Greg MacKenzie own MacKenzie Produce in Stratford, just east of Charlottetown. Their farm grows about 1.4 million kilograms of produce a year, with cabbage as the main crop. They share the prize with Grant and Colleen Dyck, who run a grain and oilseed operation in Manitoba.

Already winners of the Atlantic competition, the MacKenzies were competing against six other finalists. Tania MacKenzie told CBC News Monday they couldn't believe it when they won the national title.

"We really never expected that we would win. We were competing against so many wonderful people and their farms are a lot bigger than ours, some of them, and everybody had just such an amazing story that we really never expected it to be us," she said.

"Our name really isn't out there. It's just starting to get out there. A lot of people haven't heard about MacKenzie Produce, so it's great in that way. I think it will help out a little bit. I hope it will."

The award goes to a farm family that is considered progressive, enthusiastic and with a strong focus on both business and community.