Farming for mostly fun, and profit: former Nova Steel Systems owner turns hobby into second career, seeks people to join him.

• Author: McKinley, Karen
• Position: SUDBURY

Usually when someone retires from decades of running a business they take to a slower pace in life.

Sudbury's Gerard Leblanc, however, isn't going that route.

At 75 years old, he is gearing up for another phase of his life--farming--and wants others to join in on what he says are the pleasures of working the land.

"It keeps me busy. At this stage in my life, if I don't stay busy I seize right up," he said in an interview at his farm in the bedroom community of Hanmer. "I have 58 acres of land, 15 of which can be farmed. Most of the time I've owned it I've just been working to keep it neat with brushing. Now that I have the time, I want to do something with all this land, and I've always had an interest in farming."

Leblanc owned and managed Nova Steel Systems for decades. When he retired, leaving the business to his daughter, he started thinking about how he could use his building expertise for other applications.

"I started thinking about doing something else with my life, with my land. I like company, I always wanted to try farming, and I had some success the last couple years with smaller projects, so I'm looking to expand."

He tried renting out some land a few years ago to a neighbour who was growing crops for a produce operation. He rented more land to let a woman grow hay. He was hoping to continue with both, but they have since moved on to other ventures. Yet, that inspired Leblanc to keep going. He tried producing chickens, pigs, turkeys and some produce, all of which sold. He also grew a few crops, which he said did well enough for him to plan for larger plantings for this season.

With so much land, Leblanc says he is opening his land again to allow people to grow crops next spring. Last year, he participated in the Hanmer Farmers Market and said it was a good experience. He was considering it again, but the community was not running a market this summer. Going to a market in another community wasn't feasible for him, either, so he decided to go into business for himself.

"The fees they charge for tables at markets, most of the time what I sell is just enough to break even," he said. "I'd rather keep the operation here. I have plenty of land for others to start a garden if they want. Anyone is welcome to come talk to me, we can sit, talk about how much land, fees, I have some equipment they can use to till and water. The rest can be up to them."

He is also welcoming people as campers. Leblanc said if they want to stay on the land...