Majak Meadows Ranch west of Lacombe, Alberta is one of the many farms taking part in Alberta Open Farm Days (Supplied)

By Jordan Davidson

Over 100 host farms to see

Farmers ready to show passion during Alberta Open Farm Days

Aug 13, 2021 | 9:25 AM

Alberta Open Farm Days is back in full swing for its ninth year.

On Aug. 14 and 15, Albertans are encouraged to visit participating farms and get a first-hand look at exactly how produce goes from the fields to their grocery stores and ultimately their plate.

Last year’s event was affected by the pandemic and saw only 77 farms register, but 2021 will feature more than 100 across the province.

While this week focuses on agriculture tourism and trying to connect producers to consumers, Tim Carson, CEO of Alberta Agricultural Societies, says getting to know your rural neighbors is also an important aspect.

“The farmers themselves, as well as the participants, most of them enjoy the conversation. It’s not often farmers get asked about who they are and what they do,” he says. “To be able to express that passion that they have for farming, for agriculture, and for feeding the world around them directly to the people who benefit from that, is really quite a unique experience, even for the farmers.”

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As society evolves and cities expand, Carson says many Albertans can’t say they know a farmer personally or have ever had the opportunity to explore a farm.

“We also have a lot of new Albertans here and this is their first opportunity to get out there and understand how this whole farming thing works. We’ve come a long way,” he says. “It’s a high-tech industry that is tremendously competitive and the innovations and technology used day in and day out to manage farming in a sustainable and profitable way is tremendous.”

Participating farms such as the Hoogland family’s at Majak Meadows Ranch, located 12 km west of Lacombe, combines new technology with regenerative farming to create a unique and “rationally grazed, lovingly raised” system.

Regenerative farming is an approach that involves conserving and improving the health and vitality of farm soil as naturally as possible.

SherryAnn Hoogland, a mother of eight homeschooled children, says that allowed them to easily incorporate daily farm life into their education.

Hoogland says their goal with regenerative farming is to create good quality soil which in turn grows high quality forage in their pasture for their animals, including cows, pigs, chickens, turkey, and sheep.

“We rotationally graze the sheep, and it goes in a line: cows first, then the chickens come behind, and the pigs also rotate on the pasture along with the turkeys and the chickens. Everyone kind of works together, and that’s our fertilizing system,” she explains. “The animals are really a perk in our farming adventure because the goal is to better our environment, but we’re also bettering our animals and our meat.”

With all their animals grass-fed and their pasture pesticide-free, Hoogland hopes people will see the passion and hard work they put in, in turn causing people to value more what they’re eating.

“That’s one of the benefits of Open Farm Days, is people get to really come and see what you do and what kind of animals you have,” she says. “I really think they see the passion in the farmer. A farmer that’s open enough to open their farm and say, ‘This is what we do, but it isn’t always easy and it isn’t always perfect.’”

More information on Alberta Open Farm Days, including how to book local farm visits, is at albertaopenfarmdays.ca.