Country Thyme Farm Tour

September 18, 2013 - Country Thyme Farm Tour

Country Thyme Farm Website Link

Daniel and Anna Chappell's mission statement from their website blog: "We are two young famers of Alberta.  We are passionate about growing nutritious food in a sustainable fashion. We provide our customers with healthy and fresh farm eggs, poultry meat, herbs and grains."

They started the farm in September 2010 and now have 40 acres.  They believe diversification is key to achieving sustainability and financial stability.  For example, they had a 1/2 acre of their vegetable production land that was flooded due to the heavy rainfall in the area this year that didn't drain away because they have clay based soil that was completely saturated so other portions of the business had to cover the loss of some of their vegetable income.  Diversification also allows them to generate income throughout the entire year with their vegetables, herbs and grains providing 9 months of revenue and the other 3 months are supplemented by eggs, chickens and duck meat.

They do have an irrigation system but this is not as critical of an issue for them as they have a high water table on their property especially this year with the spring flooding.

Country Thyme Farm offers a variety of CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) shares with their Vegetable, Poultry and Grain shares.  The payment that is received up front from customers using this product would be especially helpful for a new grower to provide them with cash to purchase supplies and pay labour, etc.

The Chappell's grow unique products like edible flowers that add interest to the table that are more labour intensive but brings customers back.

As another way to distinguish themselves from the competition, Daniel and Anna are currently in the process of converting their operation to organic.  This is a an arduous process that includes making sure that no chemicals or fertilizers are applied to the land for two years even before they can make an application.  Then they will be subject to inspections going forward as well to maintain their organic status.  Currently they manage poultry diseases with herbal remedies as much as possible and only resort to antibiotics as a last resort.  They also strive to use breeds that are disease hardy.

Daniel and Anna have a close relationship with John Mills from Eagle Creek Farms after working for him for a number of years.  Anna is from BC and was inspired to stay in the area to work with John on the local feed movement which is to "provide our local community with fresh, nutritious food while preserving our agricultural heritage" as stated in their brochure.  Daniel is from Ontario and came to area looking for work but has a background in horticulture and is self taught.  They have cultivated that relationship with John to form a partnership of their two businesses.  They provide the herbs for Eagle Creek's CSA program and John assists them with repairs on equipment since this is an area of strength for him but not for the Chappells.  They were also able to purchase their first really important piece of equipment, the cooling reefer unit, from John when Eagle Creek upgraded to a larger system.

As a start up business the Chappell's rent some of their equipment and land.  Kijiji is another good source of used equipment for them like the supplies for the duck coop as they build their business but they are cognizant of the fact that they need to research the history of the equipment throughly before buying.

As their business grows and funds become available for capital items they make purchases of equipment like washers to automate a portion of their vegetable process.  A future goal is a new packing shed.

As a start up business they decided to build their cold frame from scratch rather than purchasing.  They doubled the poly plastic and added straw bales for an additional 3 degrees of temperature protection.  They have plans to build a header house in the winter and move the water tanks and add a wood stove to keep water thawed.  This year they planted tomatoes directly into the soil which can be a better practice  but soil compaction can be an issue and with their high water table they will convert to a pot in pot system.

The Chappell's do have additional help on the farm through internship programs where they provide some compensation but also commit to teaching the employees.  They also employed a couple of summer students and one full time employee.

Country Thyme capitalizes on the usual marketing channels of website, Facebook, blogs and attending Farmer's Markets in conjunction with Eagle Creek Farms.

It was great to see what these two young entrepreneurs have done in a very short time frame and how they have started to apply their knowledge and experience to their new horticultural business.  They are an inspiration!