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Matt Paulson considers himself a pretty lucky fellow.
When he met Erin Hamilton three years ago, not only did he gain a girlfriend, he gained a whole lot of knowledge as well.
“I was raised ‘in town’, lived there all my life,” he said, explaining that he saw no difference between regular field practices and organic.
“All my uncles are farmers, so I was raised around pesticides and fertilizers,” said Paulson. “I was pretty skeptical about organics,” he admits, until he saw research being done at the University Minnesota and the University of Carolina. There, scientists have shown a direct link between Methyl Bromide and cancer.
“Methyl Bromide is used to sterilize the soil, as well as inhibit respiration (ripening) of picked strawberries,” he said, explaining that the chemical is injected into the ground, and used as a gas to spray picked fruit. While banned since 1998, other countries continue to use this practice, thus allowing strawberries labeled from the United States to make it into Canada.
Paulson thinks this, and other conventional practices, make his strawberries a necessary product for an ever-increasing consumer demand.
But it wasn’t until meeting Erin’s parents, Ron and Sheila Hamilton, that Paulson realized there are different and, according to him and many others, better ways of farming.
Paulson and Erin lease three acres from the Hamiltons on their 160-acre organic farm near Armena. There, the two have been working the last two years, tilling and hoeing the land to make it the most receptive to their crop of organic strawberries.
“We have a yield of about 4,000 pounds,” said Paulson, after their initial planting on April 24. “We expect to be able to increase that to exceed 10,000 to 15,000 pounds next year,” he said, including their own diversification into what they perceive to be an untapped market – early vegetables such as carrots and potatoes.
The farm itself, though, has been going strong since its certification in 1977. A first-generation organic farm, the Hamiltons have gained a loyal following from customers.
“I’ve been buying from them for the last three or four years,” said Edmontonian Suzanne Harris. She said that, as a conscientious buyer, she and her family almost always buy organic, and their meat is bought exclusively from Sunworks Farms’ booth at the Strathcona Farmers Market. “I’m not sure what chemicals and additives are in food and I care about my family,” she said.
Harris and other customers can be assured that the meat raised, fed, slaughtered and packaged from Sunworks contains no eggs, wheat, dairy or celiac and are completely allergy-free; a necessity in the days of ever-increasing health concerns in children and adults.
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Sunworks has been certified by the Winnipeg Humane Society is recognized by provincial naturopaths as a place to buy allergy-free products.
To Ron and Sheila, though, the most important thing is keeping their customers happy.
“Our customers from Day One keep coming back,” he said about their booth’s popularity at not only Edmonton farmers’ markets, but others too. The ABC Farmers’ Market (formerly the Blackfoot Market) in Calgary, and other farmers’ market customers are the same: they’re tough critics. But, by word-of-mouth the Hamiltons’ popularity has continued to soar and with continuing growth of individual orders, their farm has even been selected to be a model of sorts.
In August Sunworks was tapped by Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD) to host the Free Range-Organic Farm-Direct Field Day, which saw hundreds of producers, government officials and media members attend.
“It wasn’t just another tour,” said Ron. “It was a chance for other farmers interested in organic production and marketing direct to consumers to get down and dirty and see how we do it,” he said. The field day included hands-on production experience and the afternoon program focused on farm direct marketing issues.
In addition, the abattoir used exclusively by Sunworks Farm has gotten into the act as well. Tina Pederson and her family, who own and operate Double Z Farms; a federally inspected abattoir in Strome, Alberta, spoke at the Explore Direct conference in Red Deer last winter. Among other topics, Pederson led a discussion on “Ties that bind: Working with your meat processor,” which emphasized the importance of open dialog between producers and meat processors.
“A good working relationship with processors is critical,” said Ron. “You have to take the time to listen to them and accommodate their needs.”
“Plan ahead and communicate regularly,” he said. “Let them know of any changes in needs well in advance. That way, they will be more likely to be able to fill special orders or meet short timeline requests.”
The Hamiltons say that by listening to their customers they are able to ascertain exactly what market needs are. Then they can take those needs to the processor, who works with them to assure high-quality products are available in a timely manner. Thus, the customers are happy, which makes Ron and Sheila happy.
“Our market is built on trust,” Sheila said. “It’s that personal connection that has grown our business.”
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