Up first – Sundog Organic Farm, owned and run by James Vriend and Jenny Berkenbosh. (A little plug for Jenny, she isn’t only a passionate advocate for local, a mother, a smart and kind woman, a farmer who is always learning and inspiring others – she’s also an incredible artist and her work can be found at the Front Gallery.)
If you follow me on social media you’ve probably heard me talk about Sundog Organic Farm before, if you’ve been to a class, you’ve definitely heard me talk about them. I source the majority of my vegetables from Sundog throughout the year – from the early bits in spring all the way through the hungry months. They are at Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market (OSFM), and this year have started a CSA program – which unfortunately (for the consumer) is already sold out, but it’s so great for them. I am so excited for their farm as they start this new venture of having a CSA program. CSA – Community Supported Agriculture, a farm box subscription bringing seasonal fruit and veg to you direct from the farm. These subscriptions are such a great opportunity for consumers to learn more about farming, support local farms and have delicious ingredients to use in their home kitchens. They are also really great for farmers as it’s a way to build relationships with local members of the community, share their produce, and of course, bring in a steady source of income.
James and Jenny farm in Sturgeon County near the Sturgeon River, their farm is incredibly beautiful and it starts with the soil. For years I purchased most of my veg from August Organics, until they stopped farming at the end of 2017. August Organics was owned by Dan and Kristine Vriend and they sold their vegetables at OSFM. When they stopped farming at the end of 2017, it gave James (Dan’s brother) and Jenny the opportunity to start selling at OSFM. They had previously sold at the Downtown Market – a market I rarely go to, for one reason and one reason only – habit. I grew up going to OSFM and it is still part of my Saturday routine. I was so sad to see Dan and Kristine stop farming but was thrilled to be able to have Sundog at OSFM. As you can see, farming runs in the Vriend family, James’ parents, Dennis and Ruth Vriend farmed for years under the name Vriend Organic Farm and also sold at OSFM for years. One of my favourite things about watching farms grow is watching farm families grow – James and Jenny’s three boys are often part of the stories they share on social media and now their oldest son, Silas, is working on the farm and you can often see him at the market as well!
I wrote about Sundog last year on social media – like many farms, they were greatly affected by the amount of rain we had. I went for a visit to their farm and saw first-hand the devastation that the water caused on their farm, but more than that, the devastation that this damage caused on their family. I’ve been so lucky over the last five years of running the school to visit so many farms, to learn from farmers and to hear their stories, so many of which are so, so humbling. But, to see the damage on the farm and the impact it was having on not only James and Jenny, but also their family, it really dug something in for me – something we all know, but we don’t often think enough about.
Farming is a business, farming for lots of folks is a livelihood, and although a lot of farm families rely on off-farm income as well, it still is their livelihood. They employ other people and devastating events like a year of endless rain, affects not only them, but their employees too. But more than that, farmers are pretty damn passionate – they don’t want to let their customers down, they want to continue to bring what they grow to the consumer. When you buy from a small farm, you support a family – remember that. Farming isn’t easy (something we can all say, but do we really think about the meaning of that statement as we say it?), without passionate farmers, we don’t have access to incredible ingredients.
I asked James and Jenny a few questions to share a bit more about who they are and what they do on their farm!
What does a local food system look like to you as farmers?
This is an interesting question. We think that local food is about small producers seeking out and living close to the land, customers buying out of concern for food security, social justice, local economy, environment.
What does community support mean to your farm?
We experience community support in two ways. The first is through our smaller community of neighbours (lending a hand, helping), family (cooking, caring for kids, field help, money), and people who work to bring attention to food issues/food (encouraging people to buy local). The second way we experience community support is through the encouragement of customers (which can be as simple as showing up and buying with a smile). There is a big difference for us between the customer that appreciates what we provide and those who…don’t. The former is such a gift.
What is the most inspiring, positive or uplifting part of farming?
As alluded to in question 2, customers with smiles and kind words are inspiring. But I think that what that is, is a shared appreciation for the beauty of the culture of slow food, ie. investing a good portion of one’s life into its sustenance. Growing the food, preparing it, eating it, sharing its nourishment is all inspiring.
What is the biggest challenge you face as a farmer or your farm has faced?
Our biggest challenges, like those of anyone else, are really personal. Not believing that we can survive the weather or survive the changes in markets. Feeling inadequate to move forward, to care for family and friends, or to be cared for. These are the things that we all struggle with. More specifically, something very challenging for us recently has been the move of the downtown farmers market. The push to a more expensive selling location, and to multiple days per week (combined with low sales) has been very difficult to understand and accept. We’ve just taken a big leap of faith and pulled out of this market and have given up what used to be a large percentage of our revenue.
Tell me a bit about your farm.
Our land sets the backdrop for our farm. It is about 14 acres, a triangular piece that was subdivided from a large field because of a natural dividing line made by a slough, or cut, in the land that collects water and drains into the Sturgeon River. It was less useful to our neighbours because of its shape and so they were willing to give it up to us. The small size of this land affects how we farm. Our machinery is small and less land is used for moving machinery around. We work with our hands more than many farms like ours, which is efficient in the use of land. It also allows us to invest ourselves in a personal way. We feel the soil, the weeds, the crops with our hands. This is part of what slow food means to us as well.
We have found partners in this work through the SAWP (Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program). Our workers are skilled and strong, and make all of this handwork manageable. We plant close together, weed by hand and with wheel hoes. We harvest by wheelbarrow load, and we cool, wash and prepare small portions of our crops each week for market. By the standards of industrial food there is nothing efficient here, and yet it all proceeds quietly, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, like a ticking clock.
We have a big red barn (BRB) which acts as a centre of activity. It houses coolers, tables, sinks, sprayers, scales, bags, tools, pallets, crates and boxes. Everything inside is moveable and adjustable according to the needs of the farm. All of our produce moves through here before it goes to market.
Aside from that, we have projects around like a half erected cold frame and we have a pasture without livestock and weedy spots and wet spots and a pond with red winged blackbirds, frogs and salamanders and lots of things we don’t really understand the meaning of. Somehow it all works together to make up our farm.
Talk about the soil health on your farm.
We have always been excited about soil health. I think this is something that is passed down from generation to generation. Farmers understand that soil is where it all comes from, and every farmer takes pride in having good soil. (This is something that surprised me to find out as I always thought that only our family or only organic farmers care about soil). We have been trying to do all the right things: no chemicals, no rototiller, green manuring with legumes, applying animal manure. We can tell our soil is in good health by the way our crops glow and shine on the market table and by how they taste. We are still learning and will probably continue learning about soil care for the rest of our careers.
Why did you decide to start a CSA subscription?
Dawn, from Sunrise Organic Gardens, told me one day that they were going to start a local CSA in Onoway. This somehow made it click for me. We wanted to explore a new source of revenue in part because the farmers markets seem to be moving away from small farms. CSAs have been a way that small farms have been making a go of things for many years. At the same time, COVID-19 made people really think about food security and the CSA model is such an effective model for food security. We are hoping to reduce food waste by connecting what is growing more effectively with what people buy, providing people with a secure source of food and us with a secure source of income.