Where Organic Matter Matters Darcy Smith More than 40 years in, Keith Boulter still calls his farm a “work in progress.” Sweet Haven Farm was born from a deep respect for the land and the soil, and that’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed over the years. The grain, hay, and forage farm… Keep Reading
Anna Helmer We’ve had some cow horns stuffed with manure buried at the foot of the garden since Christmas. We dug them up in May to check, but the manure was still pretty sloppy. I expect they are now ready and I intend to dig them up and prepare some BD-500. I am doing that… Keep Reading
Matt Treble From extreme weather events to international tariffs, the last few years have shown that there are plenty of things that fall outside of an agricultural producer’s control that can cause stress, burnout, or other impacts to mental wellness. In addition, mental health is perceived as highly stigmatized in society, meaning that people who… Keep Reading
Small-Scale Growing Big Ailsa McFadyen-Mungall “We have to be a little more particular about our growing. We’re trying to get a lot of food off a small space,” says Shawn Dirksen, owner and operator of Northstar Organics. But “a little more particular” does not do Northstar justice. Farming on a 10-acre plot on the Saanich… Keep Reading
Anna Helmer Gosh, I am having enormous trouble focussing my brain on writing. There are any number of reasons why this is so, but basically, I haven’t made time to get to my computer and once there, commence writing. I get to the machine all right, but my attention is quickly pulled into other areas… Keep Reading
Tristan Banwell What is a regenerative farm? Perhaps it is easiest to contrast the opposite—a degenerative farm; agricultural practices that degrade the land. As we travel around our own province, we can see many farms where the farmer has taken too much without giving anything back. We commonly see farming methods where the whole focus… Keep Reading
Finding Laughter, Balance, and Community On The Farm Kat Roger Nestled in the Okanagan Valley, Lorna and Chris Church operate Grassy Gnome Acres on 65 acres of farmland in Coldstream, BC. At the start, Lorna and Chris never intended to become full-time farmers. In 2008, they were looking for a manageable five acres of forested… Keep Reading
IFOAM’s Organic World Congress in Taiwan Katie Fettes In early December 2024, I joined hundreds of farmers, researchers, policymakers, and advocates at the 21st IFOAM Organic World Congress (OWC) in Taiwan. It was a week of inspiring conversations, knowledge exchange, and powerful grounding in the transformative potential of organic agriculture to address global challenges. The… Keep Reading
Eva-Lena Lang In the fall of 2024, I had the privilege of accompanying University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers on a two-week field visit to Germany and India. With a focus on agroecology and organic practices, we built relationships with research partners, community organizations, farmers, and farmer communities and gained insights into how farmers can… Keep Reading
The Miracle Place Darcy Smith From one Kalala to another, Karnail Sidhu crossed continents and decades to bring Kalala Organic Estate Winery to life. The winery’s name honours the village in Punjab, India, where he was born. Kalala means “miracle place,” says Karnail. “My birthplace has a little legend about how it got its name.… Keep Reading
