This
fall I went on a farm tour of BC with a group of international farm
writers and fellow agrologists. A variety of farms were visited,
including some operated by young farmers. One couple, Annemarie and
Kevin Klippenstein, were recent winners of the BC Young Farmers award
and they spoke with our group about how they got into farming, and
how their operation has evolved in their ten years of farming. Just
this month they received the Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers’
Award along with a dairy farming couple from Eastern Canada.
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program is to recognize
farmers 18 to 39 that exemplify excellence in their profession and
promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture.
The
Klippensteins were raised on the coast and both worked in the
hospitality industry, but after they married they started their plans
to become organic farmers. Fraser Valley land was too expensive, so
the Klippensteins looked for an area with affordable land. They
bought a five acre farm in the Okanagan community of Cawston in 2001
and started Klipper's Organic Acres, direct marketing certified
organic produce. One of their goals was to farm full time, so it was
important to find a market for their organic produce that paid well.
They found this market in six Vancouver-area farmers markets, and
several Vancouver restaurants. By listening to their customers they
evolved their farm operation to include what customers want, and they
soon expanded from orchard fruits to include heirloom vegetables. By
growing hothouse crops they expanded and extended their season, and
by growing storage crops like garlic, squash, onions, carrots and
beets they have increased off-season sales through Community Shared
Agriculture (CSA) boxes. Preserves and dried fruits and vegetables
have helped with the farm’s cash flow.
The
Klippensteins have not worked off the farm since 2002, believing in
good honest work and the value in producing good organic food.
Diversity is important in their business model, and has allowed them
to expand into the winter season with the help of a cold storage
facility that they installed. They are still harvesting carrots in
February, even in Cawston.
Ever evolving and improving, they have
added an additional goal of getting more people into farming.
To
do this, the Klippensteins are involved in the Organic Farming
Institute where Kevin is the Chair. It helps that Cawston has the
reputation and title of “The Organic Capital of Canada”. The
Klippensteins take five to ten students from March to October and
teach them everything they know. They provide a five bedroom
apprenticeship suite and a four bedroom mobile home to house their
students, stating that it is important that they live on the farm.
Finding good farm labour is an issue for most farms, and it is an
advantage to have trained labour, especially for organic farms that
are more labour intensive.
Klipper’s
Organic Acres has now grown to 40 acres of organic production. Along
with organic methods such as cover crops to prevent soil erosion and
build soil structure, and predator bugs to provide pest management,
solar panels are used for heating water and for the drying facility.
The only downside to their success has been that some local farmers
markets won’t allow them in because they are viewed as “too big”.
As a result, they focus on taking their products to the Vancouver
market twice a week. That amounts to a lot of miles driven each year,
and a lot of hours away from the farm and family. Annemarie insists
on being there to talk to customers, instead of sending employees.
This dedication and direct involvement in every aspect of their
operation has been a key part of their success. Another key part has
been their years in the restaurant industry, which has given them
contacts and insights into their customers’ needs and wants. It
would be ideal if they could market closer to home, and as the
population grows in the Okanagan that may be more feasible – as
long as the farmer’s markets let them in.
The
Klipperstein's future goals are to continue to improve organic
practices, to continue to educate consumers and to continue to train
the next generation of organic farmers.
On
the farm tour, the younger farmers that we met wanted to infuse
something new and experiential to farming. Although they knew it was
a business, they wanted more than a business. They wanted a good
lifestyle and a healthy place to raise their families. Half of the
younger farmers had no prior farm experience, yet they were able to
succeed by finding mentors, learning through formal education and
self-study, and through trial, error and working hard.
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