In 1899, a man with a young family traveled to Saskatchewan to plant his roots.

With $20, Michael Alfred Wilkinson built a house to match the one he had in Owen Sound - a house which still stands on his 1,600 acres of land north of Yellow Grass.

The land holds a century of memories for the Wilkinsons, and will hold more as long as the farm stays within the family.

Over 100 years after Michael Alfred settled, the Wilkinson family is being honoured by Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food for keeping their roots intact.

The farm has been passed down from generation to generation for the past 100 years. Michael Alfred passed it on to his son Wilber, who in turn passed it on to his son Doug and wife Lona, who passed it on to their son Ron and his wife Lindy.

During a presentation by extension agrologist Elaine Moats, the Wilkinsons were congratulated and awarded with the Century Family Farm Award, Dec. 19.

"This award honors the pioneers and their perseverance through the good and bad," said Lona, Doug's wife.

"The land doesn't really care who owns it, but the communities care a great deal," added Moats.

For four generations, the farm has been producing crops such as durum, lentils and canola. Through the years, technology has made it easier to farm.

When Michael Alfred started farming, Doug said, he had a chunk of land, one horse and one ox. Advances in technology have made farming a less labour-intensive enterprise.

Ron said his two sons want to continue the tradition by taking over the farming business when he retires.

"They hope they can farm the land too, but they want to get their careers first," he said.

The next Wilkinsons in line to farm the land are Jeff, who is 20 years old, taking engineering courses at the University of Saskatchewan, and Tyler, 17, who is going to graduate from high school this year.