Paul Brandt used Ted and Maddi Dyck's combine as a prop for the video he shot on their field. Canadian country music star Paul Brandt made a surprise visit to a farmer's field near Winkler, Man., to shoot a music video Monday.
"I was unaware of his coming until approximately five minutes before his arrival," said Maddi Dyck. "I was still in shock and then I saw him walking onto our field."
Her husband Ted, who owns the farm, said he had no idea an award-winning celebrity was coming to his farm and had chosen his partially swathed field.
"I had been asked the previous day for permission but nothing was said about Paul until the day of the filming," he said.
The shoot was kept secret in an attempt to keep crowds away from the site.
Ted Dyck said the shoot resulted in some crop damage but he felt it was justified, as proceeds from the video will go towards Children's Camp International.
"We were honoured to allow the video to be on our field," he said.
Brandt is touring with a group called High Valley, who chose the small town location.
"They chose my field because some of it was swathed but there was still some standing wheat," said Dyck.
Farmers Ted and Maddi Dyck were surprised by an impromptu request by country musician Paul Brandt, left, to use their field for a video shoot on Monday. (Maddi Dyck) He said Brandt also wanted to use his Case/IH combine as a prop.
"They wanted my combine because they did not want a brand new one, and also it had to be dusty and apparently he had some childhood connection to a Case/IH," he said.
Brandt was initially scheduled to make an appearance at Harvest for Kids on Saturday but had to cancel at the last minute.
At the event, farmers lined up 200 harvesting combines on a wheat field near Winkler to set a world record and raise money for charity.
Dyck was one of the farmers who took part in the event to help raise money for children in developing countries.
The previous record for the stunt was 175 machines. The harvest on Saturday, which took place about 130 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, was monitored by a representative from Guinness World Records.
Dyck said he taught Brandt's video crew a few things about farming.
"It was real fun to talk to the crew.… They had no idea about farming or grain or anything but they were interested in everything. It's amazing to see how much effort goes into a video like this and I can hardly wait to see it."
Maddi Dyck, who said Brandt was very approachable, said the farm's small size worked in their favour.
"There are more sophisticated farms out there than ours," she said. "Because we are small … we are able to use older equipment, which, in this case, was a drawing point for this video. Not all that glitters is gold."
