Pinette Robinson was a part of the Business Bootcamp for New Farmers program, and we wanted to share her perspectives with the new and aspiring farmers in our network. Want more stories of other farmers? Check out the links at the bottom of this post!
Please share a bit about yourself and about your farm! What do you grow or want to grow?
My name is Pinette Robinson (she/her). I own and operate Fairfolk Farm with my husband Brandon (he/him). We are currently growing mixed vegetables that we sell at farmers markets. In the spring of 2024 we will be getting chickens and selling eggs. We are also looking into getting ducks, sheep and goats in the coming years. Besides that, we are an agri-tourism destination. We have a small cabin that we rent out through AirBnb and are planting trees for a U-Pick apple orchard this spring. This should be operational in about 5 years. In 2025 we are planning on also opening a U-Pick pumpkin field.
Tell us how you became interested in growing food.
I think I always had an interest in growing food, but my parents weren’t really into gardening so it wasn’t something I was exposed to growing up. I have family in Australia, and when visiting my uncle and aunt in New South Wales and seeing how they were largely self-sufficient, it really sparked my interest. And that’s when I started experimenting with back-yard gardening.
What stage of your farming career were you in, when you decided to join the Bootcamp?
I’m just starting out as a commercial vegetable grower. About the same time as we were starting to look for farm land, I heard about the Young Agrarians Business Bootcamp.
What motivated you to take the Bootcamp?
As farming was a brand new endeavour we were embarking on, it seemed like a great fir for us to do the bootcamp. I had done other courses in business management and bookkeeping, but hadn’t done anything quite like the bootcamp.
Tell us how you became interested in growing food.
I think I always had an interest in growing food, but my parents weren’t really into gardening so it wasn’t something I was exposed to growing up. I have family in Australia, and when visiting my uncle and aunt in New South Wales and seeing how they were largely self-sufficient, it really sparked my interest. And that’s when I started experimenting with back-yard gardening.
What are you most excited about from the Bootcamp?
It is really great to have a business plan for the farm. It helps keep us focused on what projects we want to accomplish short term, and it has made it possible for us to get funding for some of those projects through Farm Credit Canada.
Where are you at now after taking the Bootcamp?
The Bootcamp made it possible for us to get funding for upcoming projects. We attended our first markets in 2023, and are gearing up to expand and attend more markets in 2024. We are also getting chickens this year, so will be selling eggs at market as well. Other projects in the works are an apple orchard, a dugout, some additional equipment and a cooler for our produce.
What were you most surprised by?
I don’t feel like I was particularly surprised by any of it, but it was all super educational.
What did you think of the format of the course?
I thought it was a great format. Having subject matter specialists speak every week on the topic was really educational and gave the students insight into what kind of people you might want to have as part of your network.
The webinars were also really great and very useful for most of us, I think.
Who was your favourite speaker? Who did you connect with the most?
I wouldn’t say that I had a favourite speaker. They were all great. I really liked hearing from the people who had also started their own farming businesses.
Tell us about any connections you made with people outside of the scheduled calls.
As the course took place during the pandemic, and people are really spread out, I didn’t meet anyone in person. But, it was great to do the course with likeminded people in the same situation as us.
What was your favourite topic covered?
It was really great to hear about grants. I am deep in the grant-world now, trying to find funding for our business, and what I learned through the course gave me a great foundation for starting that journey.
What are your next steps? What is your long term vision?
Our long term vision is to have a thriving market garden and agro-tourism business. Right now we are trying to go to more markets per week, but it would be nice to get to a point where we are less relying on markets, because we are multiple different ways of selling our produce, one being a farm store. A summer/fall U-Pick and all-year round farm store is the ultimate goal.
What inspires you to put in the work of starting a farm?
It’s something that I’ve always wanted. Always dreamed of.
Get in touch with Fairfolk Farm through their Instagram: @fairfolkfarm
Find more information about the Business Bootcamp for New Farmers program by clicking here!
Check out the rest of this interview series!
MC Pace of Salt & Sickle Farm
Guru Khalsa of Earthmother Farm
Brian Tattam of Tattam Valley Farms
Trent Romanow of Cluck and Clove Farm