After 30 years, Jerry is closing down the First Nature Farms stand at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (OSFM).
by Mary Bailey
I call Jerry while he’s having his morning coffee, waiting for the hay to dry.
“It was a great year for producing hay, but it’s hard to get it harvested between the showers. We were baling hay last night, but then it drizzled. Red clover has a thick stem and takes a long time to dry,” he says.
Jerry keeps up a running commentary about what he’s looking at while we talk. “I’m staring at Luna, Donovan’s and Lisa’s dog, a big white Hungarian, lying in the driveway with a bunch of chickens,” says Jerry. “The other one, the big white Pyrenees, is Galileo. Our choir was learning to singing Bohemian Rhapsody, so I end up calling him with galileo galileo, galileo, galileo figaro magnifico.”
Our discussion veers to the farm donkeys. I recall meeting Joe (a cheeky Jerusalem donkey) on a visit to the farm a few years back. Now there is Juanita and Juan (all the donkey’s names start with J). I ask if they are used to help protect the animals. “Wildlife control? Not at all,” says Jerry. “They do nothing, just get into trouble and try to escape. One jumps and the other one goes underneath, and they head right over the grain bins.”
Such is life on the farm, which Jerry will be getting even more of. After 30 years, Jerry is closing down the stand at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market. He starts to talk about the early days.
“I worked for Agriculture Canada doing research into saskatoon berries. I had to drive a half hour in every direction. I passed all these farmers who got to stay home. So, I quit my job and became a full-time farmer.
At the time it was a big chunk of land 17 quarter sections and another 13 quarter sections leased. There were four partners; I was the only one from a non-farming background. This was an abandoned cattle ranch built for cows. We got a loan from the Feeders Association for 130 steer,” he says.
“That was our start, slowly we all did our own thing. Then some pigs, then turkeys, then chickens. The farm was certified organic in 1990.”
First Nature Farms is near Hythe, about 45 minutes west of Grande Prairie in the Peace region. “Beaverlodge is where we do our shopping—if you climb a tall tree you can see the B.C. border,” says Jerry.
“For the last 20 years it’s just been myself. I still have 13 quarters of leased land and 6 deeded quarters.” It’s a beautiful place with most of it in natural land. Six creeks flow through on their way to the Peace. “Bordering us on the east side is a nature conservancy; on the west, south and north it’s crown land. Good neighbours.”
Sam and Jerry’s kids Donovan and Keri grew up on the farm. Keri goes to cooking school in P.E.I. in the fall and Donavan and his wife Lisa have Homestead Farm at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market. “They grow all types of vegetables and garlic. They also built a super energy efficient hour nearby. We went together on the solar array. According to my first bill from the power company, I made $4.
“My birthday present to Donovan was to have all the manure they had piled up from the old cattle ranch levelled on a nice gentle slope for his future market garden. It’s old manure, not perfectly balanced, but with lots of biodiversity. There will be five acres of vegetable garden eventually, but it won’t be me.”
Sam lives next door now. “Her dream was to live a quiet life on the shores of a lake. That’s what she has now, a little house on the shores of a big beaver pond, off the grid. She grows beautiful flowers and vegetables. When spring comes, when we are being forced to go to the grocery store, she’ll say ‘want some carrots and potatoes? Want some squash?’
“It’s not the drive, I love the drive, it’s like a meditation, the slower I drive, the more time I get to spend. But, a lot of our regular customers aren’t there anymore—people don’t want to stand in line. Not only that. No one has Covid where we are on the farm; if we do go into Beaverlodge or Grande Prairie we use hand sanitizer and wear masks. We are in a safe community and I want to keep it way. I don’t want to be the one who goes to the city and brings something back.”
Jerry may be leaving the market, but he’s not leaving farming—he’s still taking care of animals and fixing machines. “Most of my income comes from Vancouver. I raise pigs for Whole Foods and Choices and other stores in Vancouver. I was at a food show in Vancouver when this gal came by and started talking with me. Then they called and asked if they could come for a visit. They spent two days here. We canoed around to Sam’s place to get onions. I’m quite impressed. They are meticulous in their standards. We will sell the rest through my son’s Homestead Farm and by email.”
Jerry will keep on writing the Farm News, his entertaining monthly journal on life on the farm.
The other thing Jerry will still do is accept woofers (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) when it’s feasible to do so again. “Woofers and young agrarians. I was to host a second-generation woofer from France with her daughter, but Covid put an end to that. I did have a dentist from Fairview and a chef from Banff.”
I ask Jerry about his favourite things about life on the farm. “There are so many things that make living on this farm a positive thing,” he says “I feel really good as a food producer. Also, thankful that I could live in this remote place—watch the milk cow walk by, watch the goat looking at the cow, as if to say, ‘where are you going’? The swans swimming. I have Woofers who want to become farmers—they are so appreciative of everything I show them. We are a great neighbourhood and community.”
October 3 is First Nature Farms last market day. You can purchase Jerry’s beef, pork and chicken by email, jerrykitt@gmail.com. Sign up for the Farm News too.
For more information on WWOOF, visit wwoof.net.