Drought…from a plant’s perspective

1st of all... HOORAY FOR THE RAIN!!! We got an inch last night & it was so wonderful to harvest in the wet fields today. I swear I could almost feel the plants waking up & drinking deep. Hopefully this will help rejuvenate the greens, size up the carrots, and germinate the last of the fall crops.

Obviously plants need water to grow, but I wanted to take a few paragraphs to explain how the drought has been affecting agricultural crops both directly and indirectly this year. 

Many plants don’t grow above certain temperatures, preferring instead to save their energy and water underground where it doesn’t so easily get lost through transpiration.

Under stress, crops tend to shorten their own lifespan – going to seed more quickly than they would in more favourable growing conditions in order to increase their chances of reproductive survival. Especially with greens, this means the plants remain smaller, go bitter earlier, and have a shorter harvest window.

Yields are also lessened by smaller fruit and root sizes. Water is required for cell growth, so without water, crops produce less. In our fields, we’ve noticed this particularly in the carrots and cucumbers (the latter started so strong, but quickly tapered off their production – not surprising I suppose, given how much water is in a cucumber fruit!) One positive is that, although smaller, some vegetables actually become sweeter in hot, dry weather – the flavour isn’t watered down, and the starches are more effectively transformed into sugars. Carrots and tomatoes are good examples of this.

Finally, hot dry seasons create the perfect condition for many pests. This has been an intense year for beetles, caterpillars, aphids and even earwigs! Pest pressure not only decreases yields, but also affects the aesthetic quality of the crops.

Livestock farms have been severely affected by loss of pasture (imagine trying to feed a cow off your un-watered lawn!), and are concerned about how little hay has been produced – a staple food for overwintering many animals. Corn and grain yields are down – also standard livestock feed.

We’re doing our best to keep the vegetables producing and are lucky to have a deep well to draw from. One additional thing to note is that organic farms often fare better in drought situations due to the higher organic content and microbial activity in the soils (Here's one 30-yr study that demonstrates this). I'm curious if this has been the case in Southern Ontario this season.

Meeting with the Federal Minister of Agriculture

Yesterday I was able to meet with Gerry Ritz, the Federal Minister of Agriculture, on a Waterloo Federation of Agriculture's tour and Roundtable. I had 2 minutes to make a presentation at the Roundtable - here's what I said:

Submission to Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

 

With our relatively high land prices but close proximity to urban markets, Ontario boasts many smaller farms which thrive based on intensive production practices and innovative business models. These farms are making important contributions as resilient businesses in the areas of production and marketing.

Need for farm policies that support smaller farms

Many farms based on smaller land bases are strong, viable businesses and contributors to national food security. Small farms have unique needs and require different programs and policies than large agri-business. A one-size-fits-all approach to setting national farm policy often overlooks the needs of smaller farm businesses.

Farm Diversification

Diverse farm operations are more stable and resilient in the face of natural disaster and economic fluctuations. Most small and organic/ecological farms are naturally diversified and therefore strong business ventures. Farm diversification should be encouraged and supported.

Innovation and Intensive Production

Small farms have been shown to have relatively high yields/acre due to more intensive growing practices. Many small-scale and ecologically-focused farmers have developed innovative business models, sustainable growing practices and appropriate technology which would benefit from further research and investigation, as there may be beneficial broader applications. There are many innovative technologies worthy of funding other than Biotech.

Loyal Markets

Supporting the development of strong, loyal markets is key to farm viability and business resilience. Many small farms are based on direct marketing models which provide a stable market base and predictable income. They benefit from strong interpersonal relationships between grower and eater, with a market deeply invested in the success of the farm venture. There is much to be learned from the strength and success of direct marketing models.

Organic and Sustainable Growing Practices

While many farms have been struggling to turn profits, the organic sector has been thriving. With growing public support for sustainable growing practices, investing in the further development and implementation of innovative organic practices would be fruitful. Funding is needed for an overdue review of the Canadian Organic Standard. Certified Organic growers depend on the integrity of this standard for public trust and international trade.

Land accessibility and financial support for new farmers

As many farmers age, there is a need for new farmers. Without inheriting land, new farmers often need capital support to access land and start-up resources.

PS At the end of the tour, Minister Ritz officially announced a 1.5 million loan for Martin's Family Fruit Farm towards the building of an apple dehydrating plant which will process apples for Martin's and surrounding farms. A local processing facility - cool!

Farm Camp at Everdale Farm

 Here's a new twist on summer camp! Kids spend the week at a working farm, doing all the awesome crafty camp stuff, but with an opportunity to be engaged with daily farm chores, vegetable garden work, livestock care and  harvesting tasks. 
 
If your family values the outdoors, good food and a healthy lifestyle and are looking for something special this summer Everdale Farm Camp might be worth looking into.  The camp’s goal is to connect your child to the story of their food, from seed to plate.

Everdale is the farm I did my internship at 5 years ago - they have a tonne of experience doing fantastic, fun educational work with kids.

MORE INFO

Re-swarm

2 days ago 1 of the hives swarmed. Trina - our beekeeper - was expecting it. The bees had capped new queen cells and she didn't feel comfortable squishing any more of them. Armed with a bee box, we'd been left with the instructions to call her if they swarmed, and put out the baited box.

2 days ago, it happened. My intern Erik heard a remarkably loud buzzing sound & saw a lot of activity at the hive. They gathered on a branch like this:

But as time passed, the swarm got really heavy and one of the branches they'd gathered on collapsed. Then the bee ball looked like this:

Maybe this was a disconcerting progression of events for them...maybe they just re-thought their exit strategy, but either way the oddest thing happened. 1 ball disappeared, and the other one shrunk slowly as all the bees flew back to the very hive from whence they came. This was an unexpected turn of events. By the time Trina arrived to take a look at the hive, it was like the swarm never happened. Except...she couldn't find the queen. Mysterious. It would seem incredible if an entire swarm had managed to slip away without us noticing. And besides, we'd seen many of them fly back!

Today, it happened again. Erik saw the activity just as he was heading into town on an errand. I ran for the bee box, only to discover it was in the van that had just driven away! Fortunately, the van returned in time & I was able to set up a bait box in a tree a ways away:

This time the bees made a picture-perfect strawberry-shaped swarm tucked under the shelter of a spruce bough.

And best of all, Trina & her husband Chris made it to the farm before they flew off and were able to successfully capture them!! They sawed off the branch & shook the bees into a waiting box.

(You can't see them, but the bees are under that branch!)

Here she is placing the lid on their (temporary) new home.  Now we have 4 hives at the farm - hooray!

Plowing!

Hey - my dad taught me to plow. That's kinda cool!!

Mike Schreiner Visits

So on Thursday, Mike Schreiner - leader of the Provincial Green Party - came to the farm on a day touring KW. We had about an hour to chat and wander around. Mike seems to have lots of experience and history supporting local food systems and small-scale agriculture. I hadn't realized he even sat on the FarmStart board (the new farm support organization I teach courses for in the winter)!

I was really struck by Mike's genuine personability and understanding of agriculture and food system sustainability issues, as well as his focus on the importance of strengthening local communities. Mike pointed out that food and farming is the 2nd largest employer in Ontario.

Some highlights from our conversation and the provincial Green Farming & Agriculture platform:

• prioritizing sustainable, local agriculture
• improving small farm profitability
• providing tax credits for Ontario businesses who purchase Ontario grown food products, and to farmers who make food donations in their communities
• developing policies to get more local, organic food into public institutions including schools 
• supporting the re-development of local processing facilities
• offering public funding to support and expand farmers markets, farmer co-ops & other local food distribution systems
• changing key regulations and zoning to better support new farmers and small-scale farming needs (this is a very rare focus for politicians - I've never known any others to have such a solid knowledge of these needs and barriers!

These policies are not just sweeping generalities - they have lots of good legs on them. To be honest, I was really impressed. We have a by-election coming up in Kitchener-Waterloo shortly and I imagine I'll be giving the Greens my vote. I really encourage you to check out their platforms. The Food Platform is here. Thanks to CSA member Jason Hammond for setting up this visit!

10th Annual Heirloom Seedling Sale May 19

Don't miss this!! Little City Farm and I have been doing this sale for 10 years now and it's gotten bigger by the year. Tonnes of heirloom tomatoes and lots of other vegetables, herbs and flowers. Not everything is heirloom, but a lot is.

This year we've got live music lined up, an organic cafe, cob oven demos, garden tours...

RAIN OR SHINE!!