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
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
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
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
Meet the Middle Man in Your Beer Darcy Smith As varied and innovative as craft beer has become over the last decades, it ultimately still comes down to four main ingredients: water, hops, yeast, and, of course, malt—I had never really thought much about malt until I found myself peppering Ken Smith of Gambrinus Malting… Keep Reading
The Coffee Company that Wants Us All to be on Level Ground Darcy Smith Can coffee be sustainable? If you have ever asked this question about your morning cuppa, you are not alone. It’s a question Stacey Toews, co-founder of Level Ground Coffee Roasters, gets all the time. People “feel helpless in the global machine,”… Keep Reading
Neither Bored Nor Lonely Collaboration & Community By Moss Dance On a sunny day in light spring, I called up Heather Stretch at Northbrook Farm for a chat. The sun was shining in WSÁNEC territory on the Saanich Peninsula, and I could hear that she was busy working on something in the background while we… Keep Reading
By Darcy Smith When Bill Balakshin’s grandparents planted their first (and only) crop of potatoes in 1925 on a parcel of land in Chilliwack, they could not have imagined what lay ahead for the farm. Ninety-eight years and four generations later, New Siberia Farms is a bridge from the past—and to the future. While the… Keep Reading
Digging into Community Darcy Smith Mel Sylvestre has been farming for almost 20 years, and she’s pretty sure she’ll never run out of lessons learned. From last year’s heat dome, to this year’s cold, wet weather, to figuring out just what type of kale customers want, every farming season brings new challenges—and new opportunities. She… Keep Reading
Behind the Scenes of Input Approvals Matt Sircely This year marks 25 years since the birth of the Organic Materials Review Institute, commonly known as OMRI. Two and a half decades in the organic sector means many lessons learned and advice to keep in mind as organics looks forward to the next quarter century. Bridging… Keep Reading
