Top 10 Reasons Why I Like What We're Doing

The growing season is drawing close to the end for this year. With only a couple more weeks left at the Farmer's Market and maybe a couple more weeks of harvest boxes after that we have begun to wrap things up at the farm, and have started thinking/talking about what the future holds in store for us Skeeter Farmers.

One thing is clear - all three of us want to continue on this business adventure, at least in to year two. To me that means that despite the low returns experienced in the first year of a business start up, we are all getting something out of this experience. I know for myself, I get a lot of things out of farming the way that we are doing. So here are my top ten reasons why I like farming like we are out at Skeeter Farm.

1. I get to hang out with cool folks like Jamie and Hannah and everyone else that has come out to the farm to lend a hand or offer advice or support in some way. Farming and food has certainly proved to be a common love that brings together folks, who wouldn't necessarily find common ground in other situations. Farming and food has and still is building a community of local food supporters and enthusiastic eaters some of which have gathered at Skeeter Farm.

2. We get to eat like farmers. There is nothing more satisfying than a meal made mostly out of things that you grew yourself, and the rest sourced from places you know and trust. Between produce from the farm and our home garden we have spent less money on food from the grocery store than I can ever remember. I should add that I have significantly upped the amount of Timmys in my diet, but that is excusable when you are a farmer, right?

3. As small business owners we are doing it all. We make all the decisions about what happens on our farm and how our food is produced, and although we get advice from many different people, we are ultimately get the say in how the farm and business is run. This really speaks to the independent side of my personality, which sometimes can get lost in the typical work setting.

4. More on the business front: in addition to learning (sometimes by trial and error) how to do the actual farm work, we are doing our own marketing and promotions, communications, product pricing and facing, financials, business planning and showcasing, team building, reflections and all the other fun stuff that comes with running a small business. All of these aspects are made more exciting when business meetings take place outside surrounded by pretty plants and tasty food to snack on.

5. People think we are cool(er than we actually are). But honestly, people think that because we are selling them vegetables or have a little dirt under our fingernails that we are really interesting or doing something that so few people do so it must be really hard and worth some sort of hero status. Jokes on them because we actually think THEY are cool ones for buying our stuff, we are just dorks who like vegetables and digging in the dirt.

6. There is a lot to be said for working with your hands. In general, I don't think that we get to do enough of it these days. There is nothing more satisfying than doing a hard days work and being able to actually see your results.

7. This next reason is probably more specific to our farm - but I have had some pretty cool wildlife sightings this year so far. The most recent one was a black bear that came sauntering down the laneway to the farm. There has been little otters frolicking in the canal, eagles and hawks daily, and amazing amounts of dragonflies, bees, lady bugs, butterflies and other little critters.

8. I haven't had to wear business casual much at all this summer. And that is a beautiful thing.

9. I am exercising my body in ways that results in more than just toned muscles. And I haven't had to pay for a gym or try to work it in to my schedule. Similar to those folks who ride a bike when they commute, staying in shape just becomes part of your lifestyle and it all just starts to make sense.

10. Good, clean, fresh, and delicious food is one of the only things I think I would feel good about selling to people I like and love. If I could find a way to make it my career, I feel like it would be an honest and important living, which is all I could really ask for.

Box vs. Market

There is no denying that something magical happens at farmer's markets. Friendly folks set up beautiful booths showcasing items that they produce and people of all stripes show up to look, chat, sample, and of course, purchase things. I have loved almost every moment of being at the market- arranging our veggies in little baskets, smiling at babies, explaining to little girls why they can't just plant one of our big sunflowers in their yard and expect it to grow taller...



However, doing the market well takes a lot of time. To prepare for the Abby market, at least two of us have to spend a full day harvesting and then a full day setting up and staffing the booth. In addition, keeping the booth looking good throughout the market means bringing more veggies with us than we will sell.



Filling veggie boxes is not quite as magical as being at the market, but it sure is efficient. We get to give our box customers whatever is convenient for us to give (while honoring some special requests) and we make a guaranteed amount of money for each sale. Most importantly, we get to fulfill the weekly veggie needs of each box customer, providing a real alternative to other sources of food. There is something really satisfying about that.



Ultimately, I think it makes sense to continue utilizing both marketing methods. Having a presence at the farmer's market is a great way to market our veggie boxes, not to mention that the booth itself makes a great veggie box pick-up/drop-off location. Certainly, different methods suit different types of customers. Luckily, our veggies taste delicious regardless of whether they come out of a bag or a pretty little basket!

Pretty Things at the Farm

Indulging in a particularly lazy Sunday and will continue that trend with a lazy blog post filled with photos of the farm.

A couple of photos by Betty Johnston, a lovely photographer who came to the farm the other week.

Corn is an amazing and delicious grass. Did you know that the silky part at the top of the ear is actually a flower?

2 of our 17 potato varieties.

What seems like acres of winter squash thriving at the farm. (Photo by Jamie).

The scenic laneway onto the farm. Watch for bear scat. (Photo also by Jamie)

Skeeter farmers/documentary stars. Stay tuned for Jayne's documentary on our first year farming. (Photo by Gavin).

Retired parents make great farm labourers. My mom and I planting sweet potatoes (Photo by Jayne).

A regular market goer enjoying the fruits of our labour. (Photo by Dutch).

Breaking down the veggie box

When I moved from Seattle to Vancouver almost 3 years ago, I was amazed by the strength of the local food movement and shocked by the lack of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms.

Those of you that are unfamiliar with the CSA concept should definitely check out this wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture. In brief, eaters pay one lump sum for a share of veggies/fruit/meat/eggs/etc. that they then receive regularly during the growing season. CSAs are great for eaters because they provide an easy way for folks to get all of their fruit, veggie (and sometimes meat) needs met by a local farm that they become an integral part of. CSAs are great for farmers because they have a guaranteed income that they receive at the beginning of the season. The idea is that eaters help farmers shoulder risk and benefit accordingly- when the harvest is bountiful the weekly share is gigantic, when the harvest is slim or a crop fails, the weekly share is smaller.

Back in Seattle, it took me awhile to convince my partner Dutch that we should get a CSA share at Growing Things Farm (http://www.growingthingsfarm.org/index.html). But once we did, there was no going back- we both loved it and it totally changed the way we ate. The Seattle area has dozens of CSA farms and there is a fair amount of diversity among them. Some do home delivery, some leave shares at designated drop-off spots (often at farmer's markets), and some require that customers pick up at the farm. Prices and box sizes also vary. However, one thing is constant: farmers are paid directly by thier customers.

After arriving in Vancouver, we were frustrated to learn that there were very few CSA farms and that most foodies got their vegetables through a few delivery companies that act as middle men between farmers and eaters. Dutch and I tried a few of these services and even found one that we liked, but they all paled in comparison to our CSA.

I am very proud to say that many friends in Vancouver have begun putting a hold on thier delivery service to receive a weekly veggie box from Skeeter Farm. Yay!

Of course, we didn't feel comfortable running a full-blown CSA this year at Skeeter Farm. The long and the short of it is that we had no idea how many veggies we would actually be able to grow. But the demand for our weekly veggie boxes is growing and it may make sense for us to head towards a full-meal-deal CSA next year...Regardless of what path we take at Skeeter, I am very happy to be familiarizing people in the Lower Mainland with the concept of making a committment to paying farmers directly for their produce throughout the season.

Veggies-A-Plenty

Someone close to me, who is also receiving one of our weekly harvest boxes, said to me the other day "Amy, I don't know if I can keep up with this veggie marathon..." I took slight offense of course, and told them that it the harvest boxes are optional and you shouldn't feel socially obligated to buy what we're growing. Despite saying this, I know that they probably still do feel socially obligated and they will likely keep on trucking, trying to consume $20 worth of our veggies a week.

This got me thinking about this whole eating local thing which has become quite trendy as of late. This time of year is, quite literally, a veggie marathon. We do have the ability to produce year round here with climate and technology being the way that it is. But right now, we are at the peak of our growing season and the veggies are aplenty.

Folks who have/are making the decision to eat locally are signing up for more than just the enjoyment of good, fresh food; they are signing up for a lifestyle change. When choosing to eat locally, for the most part, you cant go to your local Safeway and pick up your habitual grocery list that results in the same 7 dinners each week. You probably can't pick up a recipe book, and pick out whatever sounds delicious, regardless of time of year.

Eating locally requires creativity: you need to work with what you can get, what is fresh from your local farms. It requires the forgotten art of real cooking. To eat locally you need to know how to serve up an ever changing roster of seasonal ingredients. You must be fearless in trying out a plethora of new dishes in order to make use of what its produced around you and to rely less on the "normal" foods shipped in from around the world. And, until more restaurants catch on, you probably need to eat at home a whole lot more.

We live in the middle of a breadbasket where we produce an amazing diversity of delicious and healthy foods. What would happen if each person put themselves up to the challenge and made the lifestyle change necessary to eat what is grown and produced around us, supported our local farmers and reduced our impact on other people and places?

I want to give a big thanks to my friends Colleen and Will who, since choosing to receive a weekly box of veggies from us, have managed to slip Skeeter Farm veggies into each and every meal they are eating at home. They are truly inspirational. Swiss Chard for breakfast anyone?

First Market Day

Here we are at our very first time at the Abbotsford Farmers Market. We had a great time! Sincere thanks to those of you who came out to support us.

Finally...we get to eat!

It's always somehow amazing when you actually grow a vegetable that you haven't managed or tried to grow before. If you have gardened you may know the feeling when that cabbage head finally starts to form and you realize that might just get to eat that large cabbage plant that has been occupying space for some months, or when that scraggly transplant that you neglected to water for too long manages to set its roots and take off by some miracle of the plant gods.

I have had that same feeling with almost everything that we have managed to grow out at Skeeter Farm. We pulled out a beet a couple of days ago to check it for cankers and holes. I wasn't expecting much considering that we knew our soil was Boron deficient and we applied the nutrient late in the plant's life. Man was I wrong. It was...beautiful. I might even have to eat it (N.B. beets are my least favourite veggie).

Beets and more from Skeeter Farm this Saturday morning at the Abbotsford Farmers Market in downtown Abby. Come check us out!

It's a farm, not a garden!

Amy and I should confess that one significant advantage we have is working at an agricultural agency. This has given us the opportunity to share our ideas and problems with a large group of people that are very knowledgeable about agriculture. However, many of our co-workers work with big farms. I think that might be the reason that some of them (you know who you are!) have gotten into the habit of referring to our farm as a garden...

The other night I was out late at the farm wrestling with our irrigation pump, which was acting up. I showed up at work the next morning sun burnt and covered in mosquito bites. A co-worker came up to me and asked, "how is your little garden doing?". It took all of my will power to smile politely and explain that we are calling it a farm out of respect for ourselves and each other.

Now, we know they mean well and I realize that our farm is pretty small in the whole scheme of things. But, we are definitely a farm- this year we have two cultivated acres of vegetables that we are selling!

There are some amazing days out there, with beautiful birds circling overhead, little seedlings looking healthy, clouds rolling over the mountains and everything seems easy. Then there are days where it feels like everything goes wrong and nothing gets done. I love talking about both types of days and in fact, we rely heavily on feedback and input from others. Just don't ask us how the garden is doing!

Manifesto

Big thanks to friends who survived our first vegetable delivery into the City. I think it went okay...apart from some rookie mistakes involving woody radishes and a lack of cilantro, things could be a lot worse delivering leafy greens in an non - airconditioned car in the midsts of a heat wave!

We hope to have more veggies coming your way next week on Aug 8th where we expect to be at our very first Abbotsford Farmers Market.

Anyways, I was just cleaning out my computer files on my second to last day of my day job and came across this rad New Farmer's Manifesto written by one of the most inspiring new farmers activists groups, The Greenhorns, from our neighbour Down South. The original version may be found at http://www.serveyourcountryfood.net/static/manifesto. I have reposted it here for your reading enjoyment.

The young farmers now emerging onto the land seek to reclaim, restore, and resettle the deserted rural towns of America. We are similarly poised to revive the fabric of urban life with markets, gardens, bees, corn patches and waterways. Motivated by a force of intention that cannot be rationalized economically, with lives driven by an instinct for direct action and stewardship that honors the planet, people, and place, we are the allies of every American. Our instincts are emboldened by the mercury shatter of dew on the broccoli plants at dawn, by the roar of pollinators in a flowering crop of buckwheat, and by the river of neighbors streaming through the farm-gate clamoring for “real” tomatoes and happy chickens. The hands of young farmers on the land seek to push forward an agenda of sustainability on a human scale.

There is much to learn, and there is much, as a culture, that we risk forgetting. We need these bodies, we need their work, we need their food and their protagonism. We need young farmers to succeed and we need that success to be rewarded.

As fledgling farmers and activists within this community, we see these to be some of the key political, economic, and cultural requirements for that success:

- A hospitable policy environment that prioritizes a next generation of food producers — not massive corporate subsidies, not cheap imports from across the world
- A regulatory framework friendly to smaller producers
- Affordable credit for capitalization of diversified farms
- Public-private partnerships to give aspiring farmers better access to farmland
- University research focused on low-input, resilient, sustainable production
- Practical, school-based, agricultural training programs (hands in the soil)
- Reformed land-use proscriptions at the community and state level — some land and soil should never be developed
- Incubator farms to rear and train fledgling farmers and an Agricultural Journeymen program to help people navigate the path from aspiring farmer to successful new farmer.
- Processing infrastructure and facilities for fruits, meats, dairy, etc. at the local scale
- State-sponsored direct-marketing venues — covered markets, public markets, and friendly zoning for farmers markets and farm-stands
- Comprehensive, affordable health insurance for farmers and food-workers
- Improved state-sponsored nutrition programs for at-risk, elderly and civic establishments.
- Start-up grants and an expansion of Individual Development Accounts, matched-savings program for qualified young farmers, to afford irrigation, tools, equipment, fencing, land, production infrastructure, etc.
- A cultural revaluation of farming as an ambitious, worthwhile life-venture, celebrated by family, church, and society
- Fiscal underwriting of farm-supportive NGOs and programs
- Songs, dances, parties, and festivals for young farmers in the countryside
- High-speed internet connectivity in rural places
- New farmer forums for networking, marketing, resource-sharing, processing, and farmer-to-farmer exchanges
- Access to locally grown seed and protection from transgenic pollution
- Fair wages and equal labor rights for all farmworkers, even those with “illegal” status
- Consumer education about the realities and true cost of food production
- More consumer/producer alliances such as community supported agriculture and community food cooperatives

And what is success?
Success is an edible future, when local populations are fed by local fields and sensible nutrition is affordable and accessible. Where we address poverty and hunger, not with biotechnology, but with long-term access to the means of production, and with proximity to that productive plenty which we can achieve only with careful stewardship of our soil and land base — a wealth immeasurable in dollars. Success is a smooth energy transition, a satisfying daily bread, a culture in which we have restored honor, and respect to the profession of farming.

Call to arms
Arms strong and hands calloused, eyes open to the beauty of every morning. Our spirits are prepared for the long row still to hoe, our hearts full with the support of family and community. Let us unite, young farmers! Let us fight for the right to farmable land! To the pursuit of an equitable marketplace, and for recognition from society. We are here, we are indispensable, we are a cornerstone of the future of food. Let us welcome many new entrants into agriculture, striving to share our lessons, seeds and stories with generations to come. Now is the time for action.

The Beginnings

It is probably appropriate for our first official blog post to give everyone a little background info about Skeeter Farm and the three new farmers who are currently working the land. We are: Hannah, Amy and Jamie. Three folks with diverse backgrounds, none of which include farming. We are teachers, government workers, athletes, friends, family, creators, thinkers, ecologically minded, nervous and excited.

We got our humble beginnings through the help two a fantastic groups in Abbotsford, the Abbotsford Food and Agriculture Connection Table (AFACT) and the Barrowtown Agriculture Development Society (BADS) who are working to help new farmers get started producing by helping to secure access to land and resources. We are their pilot project, but they have big things in store for all new farmers who are looking for a similar start.

Skeeter Farm is a 14 acre beautiful, scenic, piece of farmland situated in East Abbotsford, British Columbia. It is owned by the City of Abbotsford who has graciously leased it to BADS to allow new farmers to start their businesses. The property has fantastic tall trees, grasslands, wildlife and is surrounded by water. It is within the Agricultural Land Reserve which, in BC, protects farmland from certain types of development and ensures its primary purpose is for agricultural production.

We have been told by our neighbours that the land has not been worked for 2o years, which has certainly presented its challenges with site preparation and weeding, but is also a great advantage to the health of our soil and our ability to create a farm that works for us.

The decision to enter a farm partnership happened in early April 2009, and site preparation including mowing, ploughing and soil prep happened in mid May. Which is quite a late start for the vegetable farming done here in the Fraser Valley. Despite the late start, there has been a flurry of activity and we are close to having most of our seed for the 2009 season in the ground.

There is an incredible learning curve associated with this type of farm start up. Everything from planning your planting, crop interactions, interpreting soil tests and plant nutrient needs, installing irrigation, buying equipment, starting a business etc, etc. We have been extremely lucky to have the support of the community and certain industry experts which we have no doubt annoyed with some silly questions over the last few months.

As for our growing methods, we will be cultivating weeds, not rounding them up, nurturing our soil and feeding our plants with recycled nutrients from our farm, green manures and manure local livestock producers, trying to keep ahead of the bugs and grubs with careful planning and non-chemical tricks, reusing and upcycling as much equipment and materials as possible, valuing the wildlife we share the site with and maintaining habitat. That being said, our product will not be certified organic as we will be lucky enough to have the opportunity to explain our growing methods to each of our customers.

Our product will be primarily sold at the Abbotsford Farmers Market in downtown Abbotsford starting mid August and through a small weekly box program.

This blog will be a story about three newbie farmers, our thoughts and feelings, experiences, challenges and successes. Stay tuned for more from myself, Hannah and Jamie.