Today I went to the farmers market with a group friends to get to know a farmer ( would be great to have a farmer as a friend in the future ).
Upon entering the farmers market , I was a amazed on how many people were here ( first time to a farmers market so I don't know how many people would usually be here). We walked around for until we found a farmer that didn't look busy so we get to know him/her.
We found a farmer named Wes of Sovereign Farms and was happy to talk with us for a bit.
Wes Sovereign grew up on a farm in Burlington but barely remembers anything the farm since his family left the farm when he was only 5 years old. In his teens he knew an older couple who often went to farmers market. The husband of the older couple died on the farm so Wes's family helped out. Soon after they kept it going on till the summer, bought some crops from there, and then they eventually rented the land to help the widowed lady. They sold the land of the farm and now became an IKEA. Wes eventually got married , worked at a Tabasco factory in Hamilton when the economy started , and finally found a new farm in Waterford ( near Brantford, ON ). Wes said he was scared at the time since people were getting laid off and it would be his turn eventually. He doing fine now and paid off his payments for the farm this year.
Wes Sovereign grew up on a farm in Burlington but barely remembers anything the farm since his family left the farm when he was only 5 years old. In his teens he knew an older couple who often went to farmers market. The husband of the older couple died on the farm so Wes's family helped out. Soon after they kept it going on till the summer, bought some crops from there, and then they eventually rented the land to help the widowed lady. They sold the land of the farm and now became an IKEA. Wes eventually got married , worked at a Tabasco factory in Hamilton when the economy started , and finally found a new farm in Waterford ( near Brantford, ON ). Wes said he was scared at the time since people were getting laid off and it would be his turn eventually. He doing fine now and paid off his payments for the farm this year.
Wes is not an organic farmer but does not condone non conventional methods. He does integrated pest management which introduces new bugs to control most pests control like white bugs. He also grows with a circulation system instead of the common plants in soil system. The water goes through a trough ( a narrow open container ), runs through mixers and recycles the water so it saves the water fertilizer and minerals. Once in awhile the salts build up so it has to be changed. Wes really enjoys what he is doing and working in his green house but he can only control weather to a certain degree. It becomes a hassle in the summer since its hotter and it can increase the temperature in the greenhouse but he can cover so its a bit cooler. He needs to control the humidity our everything will be ruined. We asked him his political/ financial views and he told us that farmers need a license to grow when you have more than an acre or have more than 1 greenhouse and follow a food safety guidelines.
This was an amazing experience for me. I learned many things that day, found a new place to buy produce and even made a new friend.