Ralph and Norma Mease
	
Ralph and Norma Mease moved to a farm location at Minto Bridge in 1970. Ralph worked at Keno Hill for thirty years before starting work with the Yukon government. Norma was also a government employee.((“Profiles of Yukon Agriculturalists.” YA, Yukon Agricultural Association, Box 1, f.35.))  

The Meases joined the Yukon Agricultural Association in the 1970s and are two of the group’s first members.((“Mayo-area couple named 2008 Farmers of the Year." //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 14 November 2008.)) Farmers in the Yukon had to be creative and in the 1980s the Meases were using old school buses to house their chickens.((//Hansard,// Yukon Government, 5, November 2008.)) 

The Meases operate a 171-acre farm with moderate precipitation and severe winters. They have an artesian well and a natural spring that feeds a pond. They did not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides as a rule. They use a marl deposit to raise the Ph of their acidic soil.  They grow oats, both greenfeed and mature, and winter wheat. They have limited success with alfalfa. Their main hay crop is a timothy/brome mix. Trial plots of field peas have done well, however migrating geese have discovered the crop.((“Profiles of Yukon Agriculturalists.” YA, Yukon Agricultural Association, Box 1, f.35.)) 
	
In 2008, the Mease farm supplied four to seven hundred chickens to the central Yukon each year and also grew and sold fresh vegetables and hay. Ralph represented the Stewart Valley Region on the Yukon Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee, providing practical advice to government and farmers based on years of experience. The Meases won the Association’s 2008 Farmer of the Year Award. They were chosen for their contributions to the Stewart Valley region as well as their dedication to developing the agriculture industry across Yukon.((“Mayo-area couple named 2008 Farmers of the Year." //Whitehorse Star// (Whitehorse), 14 November 2008.)) The Minto Bridge Farm continues as a busy and productive farm. In 2020, the Meases were advertising free-range eggs and chickens.((“Minto Bridge Farm,” 2020 website: https://rnmease.wixsite.com/mintobridgefarm.)) 

Yukon farmers often have occupations besides farming. Norma Mease is the assistant manager and territorial agent at the Yukon Liquor Corporation in Mayo. Ralph is the head custodian at the J. V. Clark School in Mayo. He is also vice president of Y034 Yukon Employee’s Union.