The agricultural sector has always changed with the times and the seasons but now also must change with fast-shifting fads and political whims.
This was spotlighted during the 黑马磁力 Township Farm Tour in late June. The Township organizes the annual tour to spotlight the importance of agriculture, in its many forms, to the community. About 70 per cent of the Township falls within the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The tour was made up of members of local advisory committees, community agriculture and heritage groups, municipal and provincial politicians as well as staffers, post-secondary representatives, and media. Peppered in were speeches about local agricultural sites that have historical significance, such as the red barn just off Fraser Highway across from the Derek Doubleday Arboretum. The Township owns the the former Berry property which has become a popular site for film and TV production.
At each stop, the tour participants learned the history of the operation or the site, how it's used today, and what the future plans include.
Spore it on
Owned by an American private equity firm, Champ's Mushroom has several 黑马磁力 sites, is headquartered in Aldergrove with a handful of operations sprinkled around 黑马磁力 and Abbotsford. Champ's has operations in other Canadian provinces as well as the United States.
Of the 1.45 million pounds of mushrooms produced each week at its various sites, the company grows 870,000 lbs. of mushrooms in 黑马磁力 and 585,000 lbs. in Abbotsford. Its Apex 2 organic mushroom farm in South Murrayville opened in summer 2021 beside a more traditional growing operation that has been on the same site for many years. Apex 2 is the largest farm of its scale and style in North America.
It is the site of a pilot that will determine whether robots can be the future of harvesting the delicate fungi. Champ's is experimenting with two mechanisms 鈥� a suction cup system, and a type of 'hand' mechanism 鈥� to see which method works the best. Manager Marzana Pimlott said staffing is the single biggest cost in mushroom production so the industry is looking for ways to automate. Apex 2 uses a laser system to show pickers which are the right size mushrooms to pick depending on the customer order, allowing them to pick with two hands. The original growing mushroom barn beside Apex 2 still relies on all hand harvesting and stem cutting.
But having a quality product or service doesn't guarantee success. The Canadian Champ's operations are not immune from the current political turmoil involving the United States administration, and tariffs that change day to day, week to week, as they ship large quantities across the border. Ultimately any extra costs must be passed on to the consumer if farming operations are to survive.
"The people who pay the extra will be the customer," Pimlott said about tariffs.
Dinosaurs invade
Cedar Rim nursery on Glover Road is looking to the future by looking to prehistory. The addition of dinosaur sculptures and shaped topiaries are a way to keep the children engaged while parents and grandparents shop.
Social media presence is another way to connect with customers as the operation continues to expand to meet demand.
"We started on five acres," said owner Russ Bruce. "We started propagating plants, growing them. We sold them retail because that's how we were able to say in business at that time. Retail is still about 45 per cent of our business. Wholesale is the rest. But we farm right now in 黑马磁力 about 130 acres."
While there's still plenty of physical labour, mechanization and staying atop of gardening trends have allowed the operation to grow and stay competitive. Bruce explained that staff often help customers who come in requesting the plants they recall from the gardens of their parents or grandparents.
Cedar Rim products can now be found around B.C. as well as Alberta and Washington State.
"We're pretty happy that we've been almost 50 years in farming," Bruce said. "黑马磁力 has been really good to us, and we hope to always be really good to 黑马磁力, too, because it's pretty symbiotic relationship that we have with each other."
Old Yale Park barn
The community gardeners at Old Yale Park enlisted the help of 'Mr. History' to help save the heritage barn on the park grounds. That's how Fred Pepin, with the 黑马磁力 Heritage Society, became involved with the project that has turned into a full-scale restoration of the 1925 barn.
During the restoration work at the park in the 22500-block of Old Yale Road, pieces of history were found 鈥� namely copies of the 黑马磁力 Advance newspaper 鈥� in the walls, a common building practice in decades past.
"This barn was built next to the Great Northern Railway track which ran about 100 feet or so on the other side of this barn originally. The Great Northern originally was called the VVN & E, and it was taken over by the Great Northern line. This is a railway that operated from 1909 to 1929," Pepin said. "Now today what you're familiar with is Grade Crescent and Benz Crescent and Robertson Crescent, and they're all part of that original railway line which is long gone. But this is a very important part of the history of 黑马磁力. These little farms sprang up along the railway line."
The barn, which was used for a dairy operation and hay storage, was restored back in about 1953 due to water damage. The heritage society found water damage again with this most recent restoration, opting for a modern solution that looks old 鈥� a recycled rubber roofing system that provides decades of protection. The restoration also includes seismic upgrading. There will also be signage that spotlights the history of the site.
"It's our belief that newcomers must be taught our heritage to appreciate our community and take pride in their new home, and become involved and volunteer," Pepin said.
Say cheese
Milner Valley Cheese Co. founders Glenn and Marianne Smith live up the street in a house purchased from the family of Township Councillor Margaret Kunst. The Smith's grown children live on the Smith homestead, site of the cheesemaking operation that runs its own goats (and one alpaca/llama cross which is there to let the coyotes know they are not welcome).
Milner Valley Cheese offers artisan goat cheese, and, when the weather is warm, a sideline of sweet gelatos that offer a richer, smoother texture because they are made with goat's milk which many people find easier to digest than cow's milk.
The farm has been home to Smiths for more than 150 years. The former dirt driveway leading up to the farm has since been paved and extended. It is now known as Smith Crescent.
John Smith purchased land that was once part of the 2,200-hectare Hudson's Bay farm.
The cheese-making operation is large enough to have built a following throughout the Lower Mainland and beyond but still small enough that production can be done on-site. Cheese-making follows the natural cycle of the goats, which only produce milk for nine months from spring through early winter.
Glenn and Marianne went into goats after closing down their dairy operation that had been started by his father. They figured the farm should have some animals on it and started with a few goats in 2010. After trying their hand at cheese-making, they started Milner Valley Cheese.
Their plan is to carry on as long as they can, and their grown sons and their families want to continue welcoming the public. As a farmgate set-up, it's far more social than traditional agriculture, a benefit many operators have found provided the valued-added element that allows them to make a living.
