It’s a monumental task tending the 25 acres of an intensive vegetable farm and sometimes the work becomes a little overwhelming. In these instances we’ve found it helpful to generate a list of the most important tasks and then chew them off one-by-one. On Monday our farmers created this ‘to do’ list. Besides the regular early morning harvesting and animal care we planned to: • Stake cucumbers and tomatoes • Weed garlic, potatoes, carrots, beets, rhubarb, strawberries, (and then weed everything else) • Weed property boundaries and mow grass pathways • Hill potatoes • Install irrigation • Plant transplants • Seed beans, carrots, squash (and lots more) So far, we’ve crossed off the first item on the list but not without casualty. While pounding stakes, the post pounder inadvertently landed on James’ head causing blood to spurt about profusely and raising alarm on the farm that even affected the mood of the pigs who grunted with concern from their sty. Everyone’s primary concern was James’ wellbeing, of course. But right next to that was the worry that we’d lose a valuable employee who’s help was badly needed to complete the most daunting task on the list: weeding. Fortunately, James recovered and after a day of rest I was relieved to see him hoeing in the garlic patch this morning, a noticeably large goose egg on his head, but otherwise in good spirits attacking weeds as if they were to blame for his recent misfortune. To date we have 7 full-time farmers tending all field operations (this does not include store and kitchen workers). Needless to say, the greatest operational cost at our farm market is labour. Since we don’t buy any sprays or chemical fertilizers our next greatest cost is seeds, electricity and fuel to run our tractors. These costs are comparatively low, however, when put against labour costs. It’s important for me to mention this because when you support our farm or any other local farmer you are directly paying the employees who grow your food. What you’re not paying for is the high costs to transport food 1500 miles. You’re also not placing your hard earned money in the hands of several ‘middlemen’ and a wealthy corporate owner who seize most of the profit. Farm direct sales ensure that you’re putting money exactly where it belongs: into the hands of the people who are directly responsible for your health. These same farmers live in your own community and perhaps even on your street (we don’t hire foreign workers). Sometimes we only think about the personal benefits of buying local food—it’s fresher, tastes better, and it’s full of nutrition. But today I’d like to remind you of the other benefit. Think about the people behind the scenes who work so hard to bring you the best quality food imaginable. People who actually care about your welfare. That’s why we as farmers become saddened when the occasional customer complains about the price of our produce (fortunately these are few in number). Balking about prices at a Farmers Market or farm stand tells the farmer he or she’s not worth it and is not valued. It’s these comments that hurt a lot more than a knock in the head with a post pounder. On the other hand, it does us tremendous good when people encourage us in our endeavours. It’s these people we serve; it’s these people we do everything in our power to please. We reap tremendous rewards when harvesting a crop and can proudly display our produce in our market. But our greatest rewards are the smiles and compliments of a happy customer who appreciates our efforts. Thanks!
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:15:12 +0000