Blog Category: Essays and Opinions

Being open to being changed: Reflections on kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth workshop

Posted by Melanie Walker on November 27, 2024

This is a guest blog post from Melanie Walker of Many Microbes Soil Lab located on the swiya of the shíshálh people. Melanie shares her experience taking kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth: Before Reconciliation workshops. We recommend that all farmers take this essential training! As I joined the first session of the kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth workshop, I was open to learning. I knew it would be a process of change. I think most people who grow food appreciate change: the cycle of a growing season, the transformation from seed to fruit, and of course the many times we have to modify … Continue reading Being open to being changed: Reflections on kinSHIFT’s Elements of Truth workshop →

EVENT RECAP: Farm Tour and Potluck at Steel Pony Farm

Posted by Marsha Shack on September 11, 2024

Touring a vegetable farm at the beginning of September is a bit like showing up to a BBQ after everyone has eaten – if you dig around you might be able to find some salad and a sausage left.  This was the analogy Mike Kozlowski from Steel Pony Farm opened the tour with, getting a few chuckles from the crowd.  We were in luck, there were still some carrots, pumpkins, kale, beets and onions in the field, a fraction of the over 30 veggies produced on the 8 acre plot located in Treaty 7-Battle River Territory, just south of Red … Continue reading EVENT RECAP: Farm Tour and Potluck at Steel Pony Farm →

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Kate McCauley – The Plot Market Garden

Posted by Marsha Shack on August 22, 2024

The summer is in full swing for apprentices in the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program, who are busy learning about regenerative agriculture on farms across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Curious about their experiences in the Apprenticeship Program? Read on to hear from one of our apprentices, and check out our other Notes from the Field blogs! Meet Kate McCauley  – originally from Ontario, she moved out west this summer to learn more about agriculture from Emily Harris and Tyler Browne, owners of The Plot Market Garden (The Plot). The Plot is a 2-acre mixed vegetable farm that has been … Continue reading NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Kate McCauley – The Plot Market Garden →

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Deirdre Madill – Dunrea Farming Co.

Posted by Jennifer Sparling on August 20, 2024

Our Manitoba Apprenticeship Coordinator, Jennifer, sat down with Deirdre Madill, an apprentice in the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program to ask her about her experience apprenticing at the Dunrea Farming Co. homestead in Manitoba. Here’s what she had to report! There has been lots of weeding and harvesting – she has enjoyed going out in the morning to dig potatoes and cut garlic scapes, which are her new favourite! “They are wonderful and now I am hooked,” she beamed.  She thought she would like picking flowers, chamomile specifically, more. But, by the time she’d get to the end of the row, … Continue reading NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Deirdre Madill – Dunrea Farming Co. →

EVENT RECAP: Farm Tour and Potluck at Rosy Farms

Posted by Marsha Shack on August 14, 2024

Twenty curious farmers and customers gathered on the sunny afternoon of August 10th for a tour of Rosy Farm, a 27 acre organically managed Haskap farm north of Edmonton, North Saskatchewan River and Treaty 6 territory. The tour was hosted by Andrew Rosychuk, the owner of Rosy Farms. Founded in 2014, Rosy Farms is certified organic and produces nine varieties of haskaps using regenerative agriculture practices, including incorporating native plants into their shelterbelt and between orchard rows.  The tour began with a brief history of the farm and Andrew’s journey into farming from his horticulture diploma at Olds College.  He … Continue reading EVENT RECAP: Farm Tour and Potluck at Rosy Farms →

EVENT RECAP: Blooming Business – Lady’s Hat Farm

Posted by Marsha Shack on July 25, 2024

Under skies that drenched us in liquid sunshine, the Alberta-based apprentices of the Young Agrarians Apprenticeship Program had the pleasure of touring Lady’s Hat Farm, a beautiful specialty cut flower farm located near Castor, Alberta. Nestled amidst the endless prairie skies and sage-filled badlands of central Alberta, this farm offers a breathtaking backdrop for its vibrant fields of flowers. Our tour was hosted by the owner, Nikki Wiart and her apprentice Rachel.  We learned about the history of the farm, which has pivoted from growing veggies and lambs to flower cultivation. Nikki’s dedication to growing thousands upon thousands of cut flowers … Continue reading EVENT RECAP: Blooming Business – Lady’s Hat Farm →

Intergenerational Beauty

Posted by Natasha Anderson-Brass on May 04, 2024

Photo by Lime Soda Photography This poem was submitted by Natasha Anderson-Brass, a Saulteaux, Ukrainian and French Canadian farmer, artist, knowledge keeper, and scientist, to raise awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG) Report and its Calls for Justice. May 5th is recognized annually as Red Dress Day, or the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People.  INTERGENERATIONAL BEAUTY By Natasha Anderson-Brass We are violated on deaf ears Over and over again Raw and bloodied You yearn to hear our pain and see our beauty But only want … Continue reading Intergenerational Beauty →

Meet Doug Visser of Lady Flower Gardens!

Posted by Chantelle Chan on March 31, 2024

This is the fourth of a four-part series of farmer interviews conducted by students in a Community Service Learning course at the University of Alberta. Nathaniel Nakonechny interviewed Doug Visser of Lady Flower Gardens, and wrote this inspiring blog post. We’re delighted to share these farmer stories with you! Dig and you’ll Find Doug; A History of the Gardens.  If you’re interested in unearthing the agricultural architect behind the origins of Lady Flower Gardens, you need only dig just below the surface, to find Doug! Doug Visser, the now-retired head farmer at Lady Flower Gardens, says that in a sense, he … Continue reading Meet Doug Visser of Lady Flower Gardens! →

Meet Tracey Smith of Beanstalk Honey!

Posted by Chantelle Chan on March 24, 2024

This is the third of a four-part series of farmer interviews conducted by students in a Community Service Learning course at the University of Alberta. Sarah Kleine interviewed Tracey Smith of Beanstalk Honey, and wrote this heartfelt blog post. We’re delighted to share these farmer stories with you!  For Tracey Smith, farming runs in the family. However, when she branched out on her own, she decided to immerse herself in a very specific kind of farming: beekeeping! With years of farming in her family led by her grandfather, Tracey, her dog Hawthorne, and her many bees became a new chapter … Continue reading Meet Tracey Smith of Beanstalk Honey! →

Meet Fern of Fern’s Flowers Garden!

Posted by Chantelle Chan on March 18, 2024

This is the second of a four-part series of farmer interviews conducted by students in a Community Service Learning course at the University of Alberta. Nayeon Kim interviewed Fern of Fern’s Flower Garden, and wrote this heartfelt blog post. We’re delighted to share these farmer stories with you! Fern says she wasn’t born with a green thumb, but her beautiful flower garden says otherwise. Once you start talking to Fern you’ll quickly realize how passionate she is about growing flowers and building community! Fern is a first-time farmer who founded Fern’s Flowers Garden in 2022 with her husband, Kevin. Together, … Continue reading Meet Fern of Fern’s Flowers Garden! →