Working on different ends of the agriculture spectrum
For many students, the outdoor education class at RJC High School was fun, memorable and character building. But for most, the skills aren’t ones they now use in their everyday life. For Emily Hand, a 2002 graduate, however, that is exactly what happened. These days, the best words to describe Hand’s life are “homesteader” and…
Book explores divergent views on food, farming
Since 2012, the “Germinating Conversations” initiative has brought together small farmers, bigger farmers and urban folks who care about food. At public and private events around Manitoba over the years, the goal has been to foster open dialogue on tough questions. The original impetus came from Kenton Lobe, an instructor at Canadian Mennonite University. Mennonite…
Exploring ‘Germinating Conversations’
In 2012, A Rocha Manitoba, Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba and Canadian Mennonite University hosted two events with the purpose of bringing together Manitoba farmers and urban eaters to listen to each other’s perspectives on food and faith. In Winkler, Man., five farmers shared about their experiences growing food, how their faith tied into that and…
Digging into diet
My family farms, raising plants and animals on a small scale—40 hens, five cows, two sows—both to feed ourselves and as a source of income. So I read with great interest “What would Jesus think about factory farms?” a critique and encouragement to move towards a vegan diet by Sandy and Jason Yuen. I have…
‘We had a huge spike’
When COVID-19 struck last March, farmers who sell food directly to customers saw a rush on their products. “It seemed like people were just googling farms to go right to the source,” said Sarah Martin-Mills of Growing Hope Farm in Cambridge, Ont. “We had a huge spike,” said Ben Martens Bartel of Grovenland Farm near…
When change is your only option
When the pandemic hit in March, Chris and Laura Mullet Koop, who own and operate Elmwood Farms Inc., were profoundly impacted. Their farm, located in Jordan, Ont., in the designated green belt area on the Niagara escarpment, is an egg production and grape-growing enterprise, started by Chris’s family in 1932. The farm has seen many…
Making food stories meaningful
Mennonite farmers have a lot in common. They see themselves as stewards of the land, they live with uncertainties, and they take pride in what they produce, but they farm in dramatically different ways. At the annual Bechtel Lectures at Conrad Grebel University College, on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, Mennonite farmers shared their diverse…
Learning to farm with droughts and deluges
The weather patterns in Nepal used to be regular about 15 to 20 years ago, says Durga Sunchiuri, who grew up helping his parents farm their land in the mountainous terraces of Nepal’s Terhathum District. Not anymore. Today, he says, the monsoon season lasts just a month or five weeks, instead of three to four…
North Korean farmers visit Manitoba, build relationships
In those first few minutes after arriving at Syl’s Restaurant in Carman, members of a delegation from North Korea sit at the edge of the outdoor eating area, where they see local resident Rene McFarlane at a picnic table with her son Lane. The visitors move toward McFarlane and, with the help of a translator,…
Food for thought!
Food for thought! There is something awe inspiring about big machines and, when used for a good cause, the ‘awesome factor’ is exponential. On Sept. 9, 2018, 14 massive combines completed a 135-acre barley harvest in two hours, just beating the rain. The ‘big field’ harvest on land donated by Pembina Pipelines East of Gibbons,…
