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Local producers talk Community Supported Agriculture growth

"In our case, it means you are willing to share the risk of growing vegetables and that your early commitment allows us to buy seeds and plan for limited food waste," Corey said. "It means you want to get your hands dirty ... And help grow your food and the food of your fellow clients."

COCHRANE— Celebrating Community Supported Agriculture in the Cochrane area, a virtual gathering allowed residents to connect with local producers Sunday (Feb. 28).

The virtual panel featured Early Dawn Farm, FOG Farms, Hive and Harvest and Summit Hill Farm. The quartet of growers shared their farms' histories, growing practices, favourite recipes and how to purchase their products.

Community Supported Agriculture is a community of individuals who band together to support a chosen farm. As part of the organization, individuals can then purchase or subscribe to the year's crop essentially becoming "co-producers." Over the growing season, subscribers will receive equal shares of what is harvested from the farm.

Summit Hill Farm is a fourth-generation farm north of Cochrane run by master organic gardeners Alberta and Corey Telfer. The farm grows vegetables and has the goal of being ecologically sound in production, connecting with happy clients, fostering financial sustainability, adapting to changing weather patterns to establish four seasons of growing and supporting the community.

"In our case, it means you are willing to share the risk of growing vegetables and that your early commitment allows us to buy seeds and plan for limited food waste," Corey said. "It means you want to get your hands dirty ... And help grow your food and the food of your fellow clients."

Community Supported Agriculture serves as a great way to get to know your local farmer, Alberta said, and is perfect for those who enjoy vegetables, can cook, are flexible in trying new things and value freshly harvested food.

This year Summit Hill Farm is offering eight deliveries on Sundays from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Food included in the delivery for the most part is harvested the same day. Pick-up spots are available in Cochrane and Calgary.

Alberta explained that by participating in Community Supported Agriculture subscribers help reduce the risk for producers, while, more importantly, indicating to farmers that people want to buy their product.

Summit Hill Farm grows produce based on the number of subscribers they have for the year, which in turn allows them to mitigate food waste on the farm.

"We grow based on the number of clients we have," Alberta said. "That's where the shared risk comes in because there could be hail every other year, and we could have some crop failures."

In their first year, Summit Hill Farm started their Community Supported Agriculture on a four-acre plot and officially launched production with a Kickstarter campaign.

The campaign invited people to adopt a tree to help plant a three-row shelter belt to protect the four-acres of produce from the weather. The inner row includes edible berry bushes.

The tree belt is still in use today.

Corey added Summit Hill Farmfea has participated in farmers' markets in the past, but prefers the guaranteed clientele they can secure through Community Supported Agriculture.

"If it's a rainy day the farmers' market is not a great place to sell your vegetables," Corey said. "When we're doing the bi-weekly deliveries it's regular and we know what we have to get out."

The predictability of being a Community Supported Agriculture producer has been a great experience and he enjoys getting to know subscribers who help sustain the farm, Corey said. He explained, they are able to build meaningful relationships with the community because many clients return each year.

Alberta noted they have seen 75 per cent of their clients return for their products this year from 2020.

Community Supported Agriculture has been a welcomed initiative for Early Dawn Farm, said owner Dawn Kay.

Early Dawn Farm is located west of Water Valley and has been a homestead for Kay since 1987.

"It's all about our lifestyle," Kay said. "We absolutely love living out here. Our two kids were raised here and we've become a big part of the community."

The farm raises dairy goats, chickens and lambs in a sustainable and environmentally conscious way.

The focus of the farm is ethical animal husbandry which has proven to be an essential part of the operation, she said, explaining "healthy, happy" goats give great milk.

"You are getting a superior food product from livestock that is cared for the best you can— Especially dairy animals," Kay said.

Many people are familiar with going to the grocery store to get milk year-round, Kay said, and do not always understand animals' cycle seasonally. Early Dawn Farm does not use hormones to supply milk year-round and instead supplies only cheese seasonally.

They have also specialized in a selection of goat milk products including lotions, sauces and food products.  A series of workshops are also available including programs on how to make cheese from goat milk.

"None of this would be a success if it wasn't for your support," Kay said.

She added Community Supported Agriculture can serve as a great way to connect with local producers available in your area to learn about the products they grow.

A great introduction to exploring different vegetables can be through microgreens, said FOG Farms owner Robb Bell.

"If you don't like certain vegetables a lot of the time the microgreen is your way into that vegetable," Bell said. "I hate broccoli but I eat broccoli microgreens like they're going out of style."

FOG Farms specializes in microgreens, plants harvested between seven to 14 days of growth. Bell said microgreens are becoming increasingly popular because they are nutritionally dense.

"You can pretty do much anything you want with them [microgreens]," Bell said. "When it comes to microgreens you're really only limited by your imagination."

Bell noted all seeds used at FOG Farms are from an organic supplier in Canada.

FOG Farms is located in northwest Calgary and launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is focussed on embracing organic products that are sustainable, local and compostable.

FOG Farms microgreens will be available in Cochrane starting March 8 at Two Pharmacy and Cat Grass Kits are available at Global Pet Foods.

Farmer and master beekeeper Gisele Hardock runs Hive and Harvest. The farm is home to busy bees, tomatoes, peppers and other herbs all grown with an eye on sustainability.

Hive and Harvest boasts two greenhouses, Hardock said, and she has embraced the use of permaculture principles for gardening. 

Her focus is not on selling honey, and is instead on helping bees— A major part of this work is though hosting educational programs.

"I'm in it because bees are really cool and I love bees," Hardock said.

She works with schools and youth groups to teaches students all about the different kinds of bees and the important role they play in the environment.

Hardock recently launched the Gardening for Bees program for those who are green to gardening and are looking to support local pollinators.

The Gardening for Bees program focuses on native bee populations in Alberta and how to help them thrive.

She noted participating in Community Supported Agriculture is an exciting experience, but cautioned it is a lifestyle change.

"You get all this stuff in the summer, and you might get way more stuff than you can use in a way week so then you then have to figure out what to do about it," Hardock said. "Eating seasonally is something people aren't used to doing if you're used to just shopping at a grocery store. If you end up with a whole bunch of extra beets you have to figure out some way to keep those beets from not going rotten in your fridge."

One of her favourite parts of participating in Community Supported Agriculture, Hardock said, has been learning the different ways to preserve produce for the winter. A bee-loved recipe Hardock has developed is tomato jam— A condiment she described as "ketchup for grownups."

It is exciting eating seasonally because it has encouraged her to can learn new ways to preserve the produce she grows. Hardock said. The process serves as a fun and creative exercise that has encouraged her to embrace new recipes and foods.

"It was the most fantastic thing," Hardock said.

 
 
 
 
 
 
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