And, in order to head for home we’ve had to strike a few deals over the past five days. First, we found a buyer for the little Massey tractor. Selling a Massey on the Island is something of a challenge, on account of there not being a dealer — lots of old Masseys here from back in the day, but few new ones.

Anyway, Don James, who owns the world’s largest independent distributor of Harley Davidson motorcycles, made us an offer on the tractor. He has Arabian horses on a beautiful property north of Victoria. He really doesn’t need a new tractor, but he was happy to help the cause by making us a fall-back offer. So we’re going to give it one last service and then the little red tractor goes to a new home… tomorrow.

Secondly, we got our hands on a vehicle to drive back to Ontario. Susy Chung, president of 4-H British Columbia, gave us a call. Her son Jarrett attends the University of Guelph and he’d really like to have his truck with him in Ontario — a nice little red Ford Ranger. Jarrett bought this truck with money from a steer that won him first prize at the Pacific National Exhibition — a far cry from your average paper route.

Our home base on Vancouver Island has been Saanichton Farms, owned and operated by Bryce and Jill Rashleigh and family (featured in Country Guide back in 2005) This is an interesting place. As mentioned before, agricultural land is obnoxiously expensive in the Greater Victoria area — anywhere between $60,000 and $100,000 per acre. Naturally this prompts creative and innovative approaches to farming around here.

The Rashleighs own five acres but farm about 700. This means constantly hustling (in the good way) for new farming opportunities. Bryce takes hay and various grain crops off acreages owned by retirees on the hunt for the ag tax exemption. Sometimes they simply pay him; sometimes they pay and he leaves with the crop; sometimes he just gets the crop — it all depends on the people and the context. Otherwise, he does custom combining, custom haying, straw, et cetera.

This year his home five acres yielded lentils, and he’s now working on making arrangements with the University of Victoria, which lately has committed to using 30 per cent local food in its campus food services. Bryce sees his lentils fitting into that scheme nicely.

In any case, Saanichton Farms is a going concern, employing a full-time mechanic and, depending on the season, anywhere between 10 and 25 workers.

It helps, too, that Bryce Rashleigh is a well liked and highly respected person in this area. His word is good, and everybody knows that. This made it easy for Bryce to put us in touch with plenty of local producers over the past three days.

One particularly memorable interview was with Lorne Jack, a long time poultry producer in East Saanich. The Island chicken industry has contracted big time over the past twenty years, mostly because of processors pulling out and heading for the mainland. Despite a population of nearly 750,000 — plenty of demand for poultry — it’s now virtually unworkable to produce on the Island; pretty much everything travels on the ferry.

A few years back Lorne Jack led the charge to re-establish an Island processing plant. Despite having all the ducks (I guess that’d be chickens) lined up — commitments from producers, financing, professional market research, et cetera — the provincial marketing board disallowed the project.

I asked Lorne why anybody should care, so long as mainland processors are getting chicken to the Island at consumer-friendly prices. His answer was simple: "They talk all the time about the importance of regional agriculture, but the evidence on the ground suggests different."

It’s been a great stay on Vancouver Island. We’re so grateful to Bryce and Jill for their over-the-top support and generosity. Now it’s time for Phase 2 of the project: getting home and turning all this into a film that’ll make a difference.

From a red tractor to a red truck… this time eastward.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley have been driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’ve done it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and have posted periodic reports here of their trek across the West.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Victoria to Mile Zero, Sept. 25, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 30, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Mile Zero and counting appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

In fact, this farm is the single largest producer of daffodils (some fourteen varieties) in Canada and second in North America! It ships across Canada and features a significant U-pick component to get these flowers marketed throughout the spring.

Otherwise, the Vantreights produce vegetables, primarily for wholesale to Victoria-area grocery retailers. They’re currently transitioning a major chunk of the farm into organic and are working out the kinks of a new flame weeder.

The Vantreight farm has provided us with interesting material on two fronts. First, pretty much immediately they started receiving complaints from nearby residents about smoke from the flame weeding process. It’s the usual kind of stuff: people don’t want their pastoral scene interrupted by "messy" agricultural practices — though they certainly want the veggies.

Second, the Vantreights are in a battle with local residents and planning-minded bureaucrats over a ridgeline of trees and rock. Ian and Ryan Vantreight want to develop (in the form of houses) this chunk of land, something they say must happen in order to keep their farming operations viable.

Although the land is not zoned agricultural, they are facing serious resistance and outright recalcitrance from all sorts of different directions. Basically, the sentiment against their plan is rooted in a fear of development and of loss of farmland. Fair enough. However, the land in question is not viable farmland (again, it’s trees and rock) and will never yield food. Moreover, as the Vantreights point out — something we’ve encountered across the country — sometimes a little development is the only way to ensure survival of farm operations such as theirs.

This battle is set to continue. We are going to follow the story as it’s a perfect test case for our changing urban-rural interface.

After some time at the Vantreights and a few other places in East Saanichton it was time, finally, to head for "Mile 0" and our ceremonial finish. Bryce Rashleigh of Saanichton Farm (about whom I’ll write more later) arranged a small convoy of farmers to lead us toward Beacon Hill Park in Victoria.

A good-sized complement of media awaited our arrival, as did a city parks worker who promptly informed us that we needed a permit to hold a press conference in the park. I pointed out that there weren’t even "no parking" signs on the site, let alone "no press conference" signs.

Soon after, the director of parks for Victoria sent a senior manager down to apologize and congratulate us. So we went ahead with our plans, and wound up with great coverage on CTV and Shaw TV and in the Victoria Times Colonist.

After popping some local bubbly, devouring a gorgeous cake from Lighthouse Cake Co. complete with our photo, and a few remarks to the media, we were surprised with a horse-drawn carriage, which whisked us away to Victoria’s famed Empress Hotel, where we enjoyed afternoon tea and a relaxing night — all compliments of our Island hosts!

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley have been driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’ve done it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and have posted periodic reports here of their trek across the West.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Delta to Victoria, Sept. 18, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 30, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Victoria to Mile Zero appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

But urban sprawl doesn’t change one basic reality: this is prime agricultural soil out here. It is a river delta, after all — nutrient-rich Fraser River waters have washed over this area for millennia. Now it’s prime vegetable, potato, blueberry and cranberry land.

To discuss all this we met up with former B.C. agriculture minister John Savage. Around here farmers meet for coffee at the Boundary Bay Regional Airport, a nice little regional port within a stone’s throw from pretty well everybody’s property and featuring a nice little restaurant.

Savage soon regaled us with stories of 1969 and 1972, the years in which W.A.C. Bennett’s Social Credit government expropriated farmland in the Delta area to facilitate port development. The Savage farm was spared, but many families were forced either to farm elsewhere or not at all.

One major legacy of this period is the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), an NDP initiative in the early 1970s to preserve agricultural lands. And, although many farmers once considered the ALR an affront to their personal freedoms (mainly by placing limits on the sale of farmland), it’s now providing Delta farmers with a fighting chance as yet another major round of port expansion approaches.

Recently, about 200 acres of farmland have been purchased for road construction and rail siding facilities. The port authority’s CEO, Robin Silvester, has his eye on a great deal more land for container storage, more road expansion, sidings, et cetera. Meanwhile, the truck traffic builds and it looks like this rich agricultural area’s days are numbered.

After a very busy 36 hours on the Lower Mainland, it was time for us to head toward the Tsawwassen ferry terminal! We were welcomed onto the lovely B.C. Ferry at 9 a.m., and after some Gravol and a great breakfast buffet, we made it to Vancouver Island. Rolling hills and Pacific waters greeted us on this stunning island — and not a moment too soon! After eight months of driving time, we were thrilled to reach the site of our final miles.

Farming on the island presents some peculiar and unique issues. First off, we have been floored by the number of local vegetable, berry and flower stands in and around Victoria. Hands down, this is the most — especially considering the population — that we’ve seen yet. Enthusiasm for local produce is alive and well here, and it is fantastic to see. With warm winters and a long growing season, the island may seem like the perfect place to start a farm. But with agricultural land values hovering around the $100,000-per-acre mark, it is a tough place for young farmers to start up.

With land prices as high as they are, folks on the island have gotten creative. We have toured numerous small land bases (some even as small as half an acre) producing food — whole front yards filled with tomatoes, herbs, corn, peppers and some of the finest blackberries I have ever tasted.

Residents of downtown Victoria share yards to order to produce a sizeable crop, and are even allowed chickens and goats on their property — certainly a far cry from the story out of Drummondville, Que. this past July, in which the city banned front-yard vegetable plots. Although the would-be front yard farmers in Drummondville eventually won out, it is alarming to hear people referring to a lawn as "better for the land" than a garden. We’re so pleased to see such thriving local agriculture here on Vancouver Island.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and have posted periodic reports here of their trek across the West.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Revelstoke to Vancouver, Sept. 15, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 30, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Delta to Victoria appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

As readers already know, we too were "Revelstuck" for a bit. Make no mistake, however, it was no fault of Revelstoke, B.C.; this pretty little town that kneels on the banks of the Columbia River, and lurks in the shadows of the Selkirk and Monashee Mountain ranges.

Quite the opposite, actually.

After approximately a week of uncertainty and frustration over permits, pilot vehicles and insurance, we were about ready to cut our journey short — finish it up right there in the mountains. And then a local businessman offered his help.

Robert Smith owns Classic Collision and Towing in Revelstoke. He’s a golfer, car aficionado, avid reader and ball player. And, most importantly, until the age of 13 Robert was a farmer. Then, in the 1960s, the Columbia River Treaty (between the U.S. and Canada) literally washed over the Smith place and hundreds of others like it up and down the Valley.

Robert’s mother Ivy had a surplus of good sense in those days, and when she sensed the dammed waters on the rise it was she who insisted that the family pull the plug on the Smith farm.

So Robert Smith cares about farming, which is why he stepped up. Within hours of our first phone exchange we had our rig in Classic Towing’s yard on Big Eddy Road. The little Massey went up on the 22-foot tilt loader, and our "house" went on the ball hitch behind, ready for a much-faster-than-usual journey.

After a few brake checks and some weight re-distribution we were rolling on our uneventful journey toward the Okanagan and Fraser Valleys — the Lower Mainland and Vancouver.

Now, of course the most unfortunate part of Robert’s otherwise extremely generous assistance is the fact that we simply didn’t/couldn’t stop off along the way to interview producers between Revelstoke and Vancouver. All that stunning grazing land… all those fruit producers… simply whizzed past.

We will be returning, however, because B.C. farmers are too important to the national story.

Robert dropped us off in Delta after approximately nine hours on the road. We were soon set up next to the barn on Cathy and Alan Glover’s property, which is perched smack on the edge of Vancouver’s suburban sprawl. To the immediate north: side-splits and "McMansions." To the south: dwindling Fraser-Delta soil and a port authority that’s bursting at the seams with intermodal transport growth.

One of the lifelong farmers in this neck of the woods, whom we’re going to see later today, is former B.C. agriculture minister John Savage. His family has farmed here since the 1880s, and we’re told John himself has some pretty clear recollections about how farming has evolved in this area over the past half-century or so. One particularly important memory for John (we’ve been told by folks who know him) is the year 1969, in which federal and provincial governments combined to expropriate farmland in the interest of seaport growth and development.

Apparently the expropriations stopped at the property line of the Savage farm. We’re looking forward to meeting John and chatting about what it’s like farming on the "edge."

In any case, we’re no longer "Revelstuck," and for that we thank our new friend Robert Smith of Classic Towing in Revelstoke, B.C.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the West.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Still in Revelstoke, Aug. 30, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 30, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Revelstoke to Vancouver appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Soon after crossing the British Columbia border (which was met with much excitement, as it is our final province), we came upon the town of Field. Within the confines of Yoho National Park, Field looks as though it consists only of a "welcome" centre and a gas station. But, as we try to do with many towns along our seven-month drive, we drove off the highway to see more. And was there more!

In town on a Saturday morning, we were primarily hunting for coffee when we pulled up to the small town’s new Farmers’ Market. Greeted with excitement and a hug, we were immediately made to feel welcome by the organizers and patrons alike.

The Field Farmers’ Market was operated this summer on a part-time, experimental basis. Led by an enterprising guy named Dave Kyte, who trailers in fresh produce, cheese, and other goodies from the Okanagan Valley, this experiment has been a smashing success and is slated to take place every Saturday next summer.

The market was already advertising organic turkeys for Thanksgiving. With their market incredibly popular in the town of about 3,000, organizers are already looking to expand to a weekly format.

The market had a lovely and personal touch to it that many lack. Samples of caprese salad, white flesh peaches, and perfectly ripe watermelon made the experience all the nicer. It is wonderful to see such enthusiasm in an area not exactly known for food production!

We ate breakfast at Truffle Pigs Bistro, part of a lovely hotel in town. If you are looking for a skiing holiday, but do not want the crowds and craziness of Banff, this spot might be for you. A hop, skip and a jump from Lake Louise, the cozy town of Field would certainly be my first choice for a ski trip.

But, as usual, we had to head west! Everyone warmed us of the drive into Golden, B.C., and we didn’t want to approach it too late. The windy, one-lane, steep downhill drive is certainly a lot better than I remember it being (you may be pleasantly surprised if traveling through this neck of the woods), but it still isn’t a route I’d like to take again in our little 1660. Pulling off to the side about every 500 metres to let folks pass us, we safely made it into the town of Golden.

Because of very heavy highway traffic on Sunday afternoon, we stopped early on in Glacier National Park so as not to hold people up over Rogers’ Pass. Striking out bright and early at six in the morning, we braved the snow sheds and the high climbs up to the top. Especially at that time of morning, the surroundings looked to be straight out of a movie. With extra flashing lights and some lugging we made it to 4,360 feet, and the beginning of our descent toward Revelstoke!

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the Prairies.

Related stories:
Farmland comes to an end for a while, Aug. 24, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 26, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Banff to Revelstoke appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

So we’re firmly in the Rocky Mountains. You don’t see a lot of farmland in these parts; however, as person whose PhD research incorporated a lot of environmental history, I can never ignore the connection between the Rockies and Prairie farming.

You see, about 50 million years ago these mountains weren’t formed yet. Western Canada at that juncture was pretty much flat to the coast. Then, in a geological instant, this mountain range emerged from the ground. Over the ensuing years — tens of millions of them — rain and melting snow washed down the Rockies’ eastern slopes, carrying vegetation and unconsolidated rock eastward. This material fanned out — geologists call this formation an “alluvial fan” — across the interior plains and became that deep, rich soil that supports prairie farming to this day.

Now, we have a lot of farmers talking about getting older, but I’m pretty sure none of you were around for this event.

Anyway, jump ahead to present times. The town of Canmore, Alberta rose to international fame during the 1988 Winter Olympics. This is where Nordic events such as cross-country skiing and biathlon were held.

At that point the town was little more than a small collection of residents, summer cabins for vacationing Calgarians, and a very limited commercial district along Main St.

Not so anymore. If you haven’t been to Canmore in a while, and plan on visiting soon, this is no longer the sleepy, cheap alternative to Banff. Granted, it’s smaller, and somewhat less busy, but it’s chock full of pricey clothing and art stores; there are lots of Ye Olde craft stores, etc.
This isn’t a complaint, necessarily. Canmore is a lovely little town, but it has definitely turned the corner toward “Banffness.”

I mentioned the lack of farmland above, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been short of conversations about farming — just of a different sort. In fact, we’re being approached constantly by mountain biker types from places like the Kootenays, Fraser Valley, valleys of the Cascade Mountains, and, of course, Salt Spring Island. They’re telling us about various friends in those places who’ve “gone organic,” or “gone off the grid” in various ways. We’re getting plenty of contacts for the mountain leg of our journey.

And, on a street in Banff we ran into a New Zealand dairy farmer. He milks 2,200 cows. Imagine that operation! He says his biggest problem is succession: his son doesn’t want the farm, and he genuinely doesn’t know how he is going to go about retiring. He could sell, of course, but he’s truly worried about the future of the land he’s spent a lifetime improving. The opposite side of the world perhaps, but problems that are close to home.

We’re pulling out of Banff early this afternoon. We’ll stop in Lake Louise so Molly can have her first look around there.

Then we’ve gotta get rolling. This Massey won’t drive itself over the Roger’s Pass.

The post Farmland comes to an end for a while appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Unfortunately for us, our time in the city was largely marked by some substantial mechanical difficulties. If you know Calgary, you may know how busy the Glenmore Trail can be during rush hour. Our trailer had two flats — on the same side — on this busy thoroughfare. Between removing the shredded tires and bent rims, tying our axles up, and limping to the nearest Kal Tire for help, this really cut into our time in the Stampede City.

We did, however, get back up and running. We were lucky enough to be in town for "Taste of Calgary", an annual food sampling event in the active Eau Claire neighbourhood. Jam packed with families, tourists, and young professionals, this event was a great way to become acquainted with the city. With vendors serving everything from beef-on-a-bun to Jamaican patties, it really showcased the culinary and cultural varieties of this Prairie city. And while it showcased what Alberta is perhaps best known for (other than oil) — grass-fed beef — a large variety of local meats, produce and cheese were used. If you happen to be visiting Calgary while the festival is on, be sure not to miss it.

This festival speaks largely to the growing urban interest in food and food production. From Halifax to Calgary, we’ve met urban 20-somethings passionate and involved in the local "foodie" scene. Be it taking more interest in the origins of their food, frequenting farm-markets and local retailers instead of chains, or simply having more of an interest in preparing their own foods instead of buying prepackaged, people are taking more time and effort with their food. It is almost as if the pendulum swung too far toward the microwave dinners — people now want to take a step back, and know what they are eating again. It is truly encouraging and exciting to see.

But, a trip to Calgary isn’t all about food! Touring around the city offers a variety of options — from Nose Hill Park to University of Calgary to the trendy Kensington neighbourhood, there is a fair amount to take in.

When in the city, you’ve got to make a stop at the Olympic Oval and Olympic Park — these truly first-call facilities are really something to see. While the facilities in many Olympic cities (take Montreal, for example) suffer the fate of under-use and a mountain of debt, Calgary’s are some of the best-used in the world. It is great to see!

But, of course, we had to get heading west. It’s not long out of the city until those big, beautiful mountains are looming, and the feeling of the landscape changes entirely. At the foot of the Rockies, it truly feels as though you’re at the gateway of something big. The farmland begins to drop off, and by the time you’re in Canmore, it is almost as though you’re in another world. Now we’re looking forward to the beauty of the mountains, all observed at a top speed of 18 miles per hour.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the Prairies.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: New Norway to Calgary, Aug. 17, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 26, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Calgary to Canmore appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

Don’t get us wrong, Highway 2 is just fine, especially if you’re in a hurry. However, the really beautiful countryside is east of the main route, along Highways 21 and 56. We chose the former.

Here’s where you can really soak in the expansive, rolling countryside that feels increasingly like a set for a good cowboy movie. This season the scenery is made better by those rainy nights and sunny days we mentioned in our previous dispatch.

This is easily the most lush I have ever seen Alberta looking. If you recall, the scene was drastically different 10 years ago. Remember that? An absolutely parched West received donated hay from eastern producers through a program initiated in Navan, Ont., called "Hay West." It’s quite a contrast. And this year, with a "megadrought" blasting the U.S., the contrast is even more stark and dramatic.

On the upside, of course, prices are soaring. Corn’s up about 35 per cent and soybeans are at record levels; November canola is about $6.08.

Just west of the junction of Highways 21 and 12, you hit a cute little town, Alix. This town recently had to upgrade its water and sewer lines, so it decided to go whole-hog while things were torn up. Main Street is now prettied up with public art, widened sidewalks and a green boulevard running up the middle.

A lot of money has been spent here, and everyone’s happy — except, apparently, many farmers who can no longer angle-park their one-ton trucks thanks to the new boulevard.

The municipal campground at Lacombe (Michener Park) is cheap and handy to all amenities. While parked in the Sobeys parking lot we were approached by Suzy Burge, the mid-day DJ at KG Country 95.5 FM out of Red Deer. She asked if we’d be able to join her on air the next day for an extended interview, and of course, we were delighted to do so. It was a great extended chat and we’re really grateful to Suzy for having us on board (despite her little slip up about us driving a green tractor).

We opted for Highway 2A out of Red Deer. For a good long ways south of Red Deer you still see canola and a bit of wheat — but you see a lot of barley, a topic dear to the heart of this beer lover.

Unfortunately, not all is well in malting barley country. As people here have reminded us regularly, it’s been storm season this year — literally piles and piles of hail. Two nights before our drive through this country, Calgary recorded five centimetres of hail! Anyway, as you can see by the pictures, there’s a lot of crop laying down and/or cut off just below the heads. It’s a shame to see, but it certainly goes along with what farmers always say: Mother Nature makes the final decisions…

So we’ve now arrived in Calgary, "The Heart of the New West," according to the sign on Highway 2. I haven’t been here in about eight years, so I was certainly keen to get back and take a look. The Bow, the new office tower, certainly adds to the skyline and the Stoney Trail loop around the city is a much-needed, long-awaited bypass for through traffic.

There’s considerable housing expansion to the north. Airdrie is as you’d expect: a fast-growing bedroom community. Looking forward to getting downtown and seeing some old stomping grounds.

As a parting thought, despite growth, it’s nice to approach a city that somebody referred to as "the Toronto of the Prairies," and still be able to smell cattle and fresh hay with the skyline in close view. It’s a nice treat.

Alas, those days are about four million people ago for Hogtown.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the Prairies.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Edmonton to New Norway, Aug. 13, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 26, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: New Norway to Calgary appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

One farmer, who has lived and farmed southwest of Edmonton (within the municipality) all his approximately 65 years, was shocked to receive notice this year that his farmland had been reassessed — he’d be paying twice what he had been paying!

Thankfully this individual and his wife were on the ball. Knowing that farmland is zoned as farmland for a reason, this fella contacted the city, whereupon he was told that recent commercial development in the southwest of Edmonton necessitated a reassessment. Again, farmland is zoned as farmland to prevent precisely this kind of problem… at least in theory.

The farmer called a friend (who works as a tax assessor) in another county to seek input. The long and short of it is this: city officials are trying to establish a precedent. All it’ll take is one farmer to pay the reassessed tax level and there’s a notch in the city’s legal belt.

There’s so much more of this issue to explore in the Edmonton area. For instance, plans to twin Highway 19 south of the city, while important for moving energy-related goods and services, are threatening farmland in a major way. As one major organic vendor at the Strathcona Farmers’ Market told us, his land is destined for development when the highway project goes ahead.

And this is Class 1 soil we’re talking. This battle is worth following for a few important reasons. First, loss of Class 1 land is always distressing; second, it will be fascinating to see how Premier Redford handles the always-complex issue of surface rights in Alberta. Will her government represent a change of policy/approach from the Klein era?

Finally, reluctantly, we headed south out of Edmonton en route to Calgary. Thanks to a late start we only reached as far south as Beaumont. Lying just east of the Edmonton International Airport, Beaumont used to be a pretty sleepy little bedroom community — at least it was the last time I passed through, roughly 12 years ago.

These days, however, Beaumont seems to be booming. The stock of new housing is truly significant, and there’s road construction everywhere — not just road resurfacing, but sewer and water lines being upgraded.

Further south still, there’s a slightly worrying problem emerging in canola fields. We’ve seen (and heard about) a fair increase in aerial spraying recently, which means the crop must be showing signs of disease, most likely sclerotinia, a relatively common form of stem rot. This is my guess for now, but I’ll ask around and give an update in our next dispatch.

Finally, as we wound our way south, backtracking a bit through the Camrose area, we suddenly had not only one flat tire, but two! Actually, we had a rim come free entirely, followed by a sudden flat thanks to the rapid weight transfer — two flats on the same side at the same time.

Sadly, this little mishap got in the way of a planned interview in Stettler. Now we’ll have to pick up the pace and try to shoehorn in some interviews over the next two days as we roll toward Calgary.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the Prairies.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Camrose to Edmonton, Aug. 9, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 26, 2012

The post Across Canada in a farmhouse: Edmonton to New Norway appeared first on Canadian Cattlemen.

One fellow from east of Camrose spoke about approaching retirement and his son taking over the family’s 3,000 acres. Luckily for him there’s been no major succession planning to be done: his son wants to take over, so that’s that.

What’s interesting is that although the son is taking over the acres, he certainly is not taking over old values regarding marketing, et cetera. As we’ve seen in so many cases this young farmer is brimming with hope and confidence over the prospect of marketing choice for his wheat.

As his dad says, "my son’s got the internet, which I didn’t have, and so he can sell his wheat to Timbuktu if he wants."

It’ll certainly be interesting to see what happens in this neck of the woods as marketing choice plays itself out. Will wheat acreage decline? Increase? What kind of new arbitrage opportunities will emerge with northern U.S. states, as acreage/pricing pressures change for all coarse grains? It’s going to be an interesting few years in Canada’s historic grain business.

Edmonton has grown and become more energetic since the last time I visited (maybe eight years ago). Whyte Avenue, always a hotbed of hipster activity, is definitely busier with new coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and bookstores.

And no, we haven’t visited the big mall yet. After some initial sightseeing we began taking note of an emerging local-food ethic among restaurateurs.

Take Corso 32 on Jasper Street, for example. We connected with Daniel and Ben, the owners and chefs at the very popular eatery, through Ben’s father, a bee farmer and producer of organic honey in Camrose. With this background in mind, Ben and Daniel have created an approachable restaurant featuring local produce and meat in all of their dishes.

Typically, ‘local food’ restaurants come with a lofty price tag, but Corso 32 makes its food accessible to everyone. And it’s paying off — we couldn’t even get a reservation!

The city is obviously enthused about a variety of different eating choices. Not a restaurant per se, but the city is gaga for "Drift" — a food truck, or mobile eatery, which has produced quality, creative food for the working lunch set. We saw lines around the block before the truck even arrived to serve the lunchtime crowd.

There truly is an appetite for this kind of enterprise. Hip urbanites will go out of their way (not to mention stand in lineups) to patronize this type of restaurant.

We would like to build on this enthusiasm and convince urban dwellers that their enthusiasm and support really needs to extend beyond restaurants and organic food. There needs to be similar sympathy for small and mid-sized farmers who may operate "conventionally" but still need the support.

These days, Edmonton city council is undergoing a particularly heated battle with respect to growth planning, food policy, et cetera. The city’s latest municipal development plan (MDP), hashed out over the past few years, has been watched very closely by a citizens’ group — the Greater Edmonton Alliance — that has worked hard to have food issues included.

This group has come up with a number of publicity stunts, including "The Great Potato Giveaway," to forge sympathy for food-related planning strategies. Its efforts were rewarded with inclusion of specific commitments to food policy in the MDP. Again, this kind of work needs to extend beyond intermix zones, all the way out to stand-alone farmland.

Speaking of such land, we have to get back out there, en route to Calgary. We’ve got farm visits lined up at Bashaw, Stettler and Three Hills. Stay tuned for our report from these areas.

— John Varty and his fiancee Molly Daley are driving across Canada in an effort to speak to farmers about the issues that concern them, and to bring those concerns to urbanites. They’re doing it in an unusual fashion — towing a "farmhouse" behind a Massey Ferguson 1660 — and will post periodic reports here of their trek across the Prairies.

Related stories:
Across Canada in a farmhouse: Regina to Camrose, Aug. 7, 2012
Cross-Canada tractor pull, July 26, 2012

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