More than 100 farms, ranches and homesteads across Alberta are hosting a province-wide open house Aug. 13 and 14, inviting everyone to come out to the country for an educational tour, maybe some fun and games, and perhaps discover something really good to eat and drink.
Alberta Open Farm Days calls itself “an incubator for agri-tourism and rural sustainability.” The annual program is aimed at bringing Albertans together through educational and experiential agricultural-based tours to learn more about where food comes from.
In some cases, Alberta's most talented chefs will be offering up farm-to-table culinary events using Alberta farm products.
Nicola Doherty, Marketing Coordinator for the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies, (which puts on Alberta Open Farm Days every August), said the yearly tours vary from farm to farm, but overall, there’s something for all age groups.
“For each farm, the education piece looks different,” she said. “What you want to get out of it will determine how you define your trip.”
‘It takes a hive’ is this year’s theme, reflecting the importance of bees in Alberta’s agriculture sector, and the interdependence of Alberta’s farming community.
Alberta is the largest honey producer in Canada and the third largest in North America. The province’s commercial beekeepers manage 25 billion bees and produce 40 million pounds of honey every year.
“Apiaries are really good – kids can go out and learn how honey is made, and bees are very cool,” Doherty said.
A handful of Cochrane-area and region operations will be among the 120 farms opening their doors to the public this weekend. Fallentimber Meadery in the Cremona area is one of the original participants in the Open Farm Days event, and will once again be welcoming visitors.
“They’re great. We’ve seen how they’ve grown over the last 10 years, they’ve really expanded their agri-tourism,” Doherty said. “They’re a really cool local story.”
Fallentimber is the closest farm to Cochrane taking part in Open Farm Days, featuring bee-related tours. The business is well known for producing sociable ‘session-style’ meads like Meadjito.
Joining Fallentimber for a tasting will give visitors a perspective on mead in general, and the diversity that it holds. Guests can couple that with a tour that will teach them about bees, honey production, and fermentation.
Meadery and apiary tours start every hour from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (there is no need to book ahead.)
Tasting the Fallentimber meads costs $10, and a branded glass is included in the price. They also have storefront retail sales, an outdoor space to relax and enjoy a cold beverage and picnic lunch, and lawn games.
Fallentimber Meadery is located at 5543 Township Rd 302 near Water Valley.
A couple of other participating farms in the vicinity of Cochrane are Chickadee Hills Farms near Dogpound and Water Valley Hops.
Chickadee Hills Farms is one of western Canada’s largest operating hops farms, with just under 11,000 hops plants. Visitors can take a tour of the field, stay for lunch or a wiener roast on the fire. The site is hosting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Chickadee Hills requires advanced bookings for Alberta Open Farm Days. They feature an educational yard walk and picnic lunch (bring your own or pre-order wiener roast).
Water Valley Hops is a small hops farm located between the hamlet of Water Valley and the village of Cremona. Staff will be offering hour-long tours of the hop yard and showcasing their processing equipment.
Tours will run both days from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. (see a booking tool on Open Farm Days website to book a tour). Their talks cover hops, beer, spirits, mead, and growing niche crops.
Inspired by the burgeoning craft brewing and distilling industry in Alberta, Water Valley planted their first hops in 2016 and have grown ever since. Hops are grown on a system of cables and poles called a trellis. The yard is packed with nearly 300 hop plants.
They grow nine varieties of hops as well as a select few other botanicals (mint, dill, and hyssop) for the craft liquor industry in Alberta.
Water Valley Hops showcases their unique ingredients through collaboration with breweries like Fallentimber Meadery, Toolshed Brewing, Prairie Dog Brewing, Dandy Brewing and distilleries such as Confluence Distilling.
Toolshed Brewing employees will be onsite showcasing their beer and some of their barbecue samples from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. There will be a cost for the barbecue.
All the tours that require reserving a spot can be booked on the Open Farm Days website: albertaopenfarmdays.ca.
The user-friendly website makes planning a day of farm visits as simple as choosing the farms you want to visit, reviewing your trip, and getting directions. The site then will generate a Google Map with all chosen locations pre-filled and ready to go, including travel times. Within Google Maps, tours can then be configured or re-ordered.
Doherty reminds first-timers to dress farm-appropriate, to leave pets at home, and to bring cash, as most participating farms are on private property and may not have a debit machine on site.
