Organic Farming – By Choice
Edmonton Journal, March 19, 2006
More than a century ago, Tony Marshall’s ancestors farmed the land northeast of High River, back in the days before farming relied on chemicals and pesticides to help tend their crops.
Today, Marshall and his wife, Penny, operate Highwood Crossing Farm Ltd. on the very same location, and over the last 17 years it has grown to become one of Alberta’s most successful organic food producers.
Everything has come full circle, says Tony.
“This farm has been in our family for 107 years and has been continually farmed,” he says. “My great-grandfather and my grandfather were doing organic farming by default.
“It’s interesting that here we are, 100 plus years later, following the same type of farming practices. My ancestors were organic farmers by default; we’re organic farmers by choice.”
The Marshalls switched over to sustainable organic farming methods back in 1989, at a time when, to the public, the philosophy was still closely associated with the counterculture of the 1960’s.
“There was that hippie association,” says Marshall. “But it has become more mainstream. When we started in this business, you’d only find organic product in health and natural food stores. Now you can find natural food sections in most of the major grocery stores.”
So what is “organic farming” anyway?
Marshall explains it simply as a method of producing grains and other homegrown products without the aid of pesticides, herbicides, genetic engineering, or chemicals. At Highwood Crossing, the Marshalls push this up a notch by making sure they are “certified organic.”
“When you’re certified, it means you have been verified by a third party,” Tony says. “An inspector comes out and physically inspects the facility and does audits to make sure everything we do is in accordance with the National Organic Program. Our food is grown in a sustainable manner, which often means leaving the soil in better condition than in which you found it.”
This even extends to how the Marshall’s treat their employees: “They have to be treated fairly and ethically,” says Tony.
Penny says moving to a sustainable farming model meant getting in touch with Alberta’s roots.
“When we first started, we would ask old-timers about what we should do, she says. “A lot of it had to do with observing and getting to know this piece of land. When we started speaking to organic farmers in Montana, Saskatchewan and Alberta, we found you had to take the general principles and try to make them fit your piece of land…such as the type of soil you’re growing in and weather patterns.”
Highwood Crossing Farm is considered small by prairie standards – it only covers a half-section or 320 acres – but Tony says this is just the right size to manage. The farm produces a variety of cold-pressed oils, cereals, granola and flour, all of which is processed on site.
“We’re probably best known for our oils,” says Tony as he displays a cold pressing machine that takes flax and canola seeds and presses them into oil. On a certified organic farm, however, nothing is wasted – the byproduct of this pressing is collected in a container and used as high-quality animal feed.
Tony says, while many farms have to ship their grains and other products off-site to be processed, everything is done in-house at Highwood.
“We’re the only one with vertically integrated activity, growing the crop and pressing the oil on the farm,” he says.
Products that come from Highwood Crossing include:
“Granola is probably our top seller right now,” says Tony, adding that is farm has really had to grow its product line over the years (no pun intended). At first, he says, cold-pressed oils seemed to be “the be-all and end-all” of the business.
“The stores came back and said, this is a great product that’s well received.
Do you have anything else? Penny, who is a professional home economist, called
on her background and developed other products for us.”
Highwood’s products also caught the attention of some of Canada’s top chefs
and restaurants. Calgary’s River Café, for example, makes extensive use of the
Chef’s garden, a relatively new addition to the farm where 80 varieties of specialty
vegetables are grown.
Explains Penny: “We have a lot of varieties you wouldn’t find anywhere else, such as Jerusalem artichokes, fava beans, edible flowers, and a variety of carrots. We have white, purple, orange and even gold carrots.
“Chefs love colour and different tastes and different sizes and shapes.”
By following the organic growing model, the Marshalls do face challenges from Mother Nature that conventional farms might avoid, says Tony.
“There is a certain amount of coming to grips with the fact that you won’t have the cleanest, weed-free crops,” he says. “But on the other hand, we have to look at weeds as teachers. There’s a reason why that weed is growing – it’s telling ou about soil conditions. Instead of saying, ‘Weed bad – eradicate!’ we have to solve the problem rather than react to the symptom.”
Besides, not all weeds are evil.
“We have purslane, which is considered a weed here but is a wonderful crop in Greece and Italy,” Tony says. “We treat it a specialty vegetable. If you have lemons, make lemonade.”
Why have organic foods become so popular in recent years?
“Back in my grandfather’s day, you could look across the back fence and see how your neighbours were growing crops,” says Tony. “We could say I believe in the methods that person is using and we could choose to buy our crops from that person. As our system has evolved and the population has moved to the urban centers, we’ve become farther removed from food production.
“People for a number of reasons have lost some confidence in the food production system. There have been a number of scares in terms of food safety, and more young families are coming up, concerned about what they are feeding their children.”
The old adage, “you are what you eat” has once again found a following, says Tony.
“Heath issues are getting bigger all the time and people are making the connection with what they eat,” he says. “Baby Boomers are trying to stay healthy and the younger generation is more focused on health and wellness than the preceding generation.”
The statistics say it all: according to Tony, the natural and organic food industry has been growing “in the 10 to 20 per cent range” annually over the last 10 years while conventional grocery stores have seen single-digit growth. And the big chains are noticing, incorporating natural and organic foods sections.
“They’re seeing this is where the future is,” says Tony. “But it’s still a situation where there’s more demand than supply.” Of the more than 53,000 farmers in Alberta, he says, only between 250-350 of them still use organic methods.
Still, the interest is there, Tony Marshall often finds himself giving presentations on organic farming, and he and his wife have even shared their message with farmers overseas.
Penny says it’s sometimes a challenge to keep up with the demands of running a successful farm.
“It’s as if the business has its own life and we’re here to nurse it along,” she says. “People want what we’re doing and support us on it.”
Products from the Highwood Farm can be found in major outlets across Alberta such as Canada Safeway, Calgary Co-op, and SunTerra Natural Foods Market. Hotel chains such as Fairmont and Delta also use their products.
Tony and Penny offer words of advice to people looking at starting their own business in the organic foods world.
“Get more comfortable with the marketing side of the business,” says Tony. “Don’t be so focused on squeezing another bushel per acre. Make the best of what you have.”
Adds Penny: "Jump in with both feet – go for it. For us, an opportunity came along and we took it and it has served us well.”
As for the future of Highwood Crossing Farm, Tony says he hopes the family legacy continues. The couple has two daughters, one studying Spanish in Spain, and the other in Grade 12.
“They’ve been involved in the business in the past and continue to contribute as they can,” says Tony. “It’ll be interesting to see if they choose to become involved in a more active role in the business.
“We have no plans to make this the last generation on this farm.”