Eagle Creek Farms Tour

September 16, 2013 - Eagle Creek Farms Tour

Stan and John Mills are the owners of Eagle Creek Farms.  Originally Stan was doing more traditional grain and cattle farming of approximately 1,500 acres.  As with most small farms in Alberta there was a decision point to expand the grain and cattle to support the purchase of additional expensive capital equipment or to go into other areas like horticulture and agritourism.  Stan decided to expand into seed potatoes and they now have over 40 varieties.  Then when his son John who is also an Olds College graduate came back to the farm he further expanded the business to include cut flowers, vegetables, corn and sunflower mazes.  This wide diversification in potatoe varieties (even 4 which are sold no where else in Canada) and other products and services is what sets them apart from their competitors.

Eagle Creek Farms Website Link

Very recently Stan has started experimenting with raised tray strawberries.  Having them off the ground  is not only is easier on the back but it helps avoid moisture issues that can lead to fungal diseases.  An artificial media of peat or COIR is used.  Nutrition like kelp or fish is added to the twice daily waterings.  This year they will also try to overwinter the strawberries so they don't have to plant fresh each year.

Garlic is an another area of opportunity since John feels there is a huge demand but it is very manually labour intensive.  Eagle Creeks is always working towards getting enough scale in their operations to warrant getting machinery to automate some of the processes.  Finding equipment in this newer industry is challenging and they often build their own equipment.

Eagle Creek Farms employes about 12-15 staff in the summer and 3 in the winter.  They supply staff housing as one incentive to try and reduce high turnover rate.  Ideally if employees have an interest in the area they are better workers than younger high school workers just looking for cash but have no real interest in the industry.  The operation being large enough to sustain outside workers also helps to reduce the risk of lost income for proprietors John and Stan in case they get hurt and are unable to work on the farm.  It also allows John to work full time on the farm without having to seek part time work in the winter off season.

Eagle Creek Farms understands the importance of windbreaks and shelterbelts and has continued to plant trees to further segment their land into smaller units for the horticulture side of the business.  They interplant pine, spruce, willows, poplar, larches, mountain ash and choke cherry to provide balance and diversity and to mitigate risk in case of infestation of insects or disease that could devastate one type of tree.

Just prior to our visit one of the high tunnels plastic covering was lost due to the wind so it was a race against time for Eagle Creek to get it back on with frost expected to arrive later that week.  They grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers in the high tunnels and experimented with different varieties this year.  They discovered that hot peppers grow better than sweet in the Alberta environment.  The high tunnels give extra time after there is a frost.

John's philosophy is very holistic and his ultimate goal is to have a sustainable farming operation.  Therefore they try not to use any chemicals on the farm.  This is not the industry standard in Alberta so it can bring its own challenges.

- Other than cabbage moth insects are not usually a huge problem on their farm.

- Eagle Creek uses biodegradable plastic mulch which is made out of corn and only lasts one season.  It helps with weed maintenance and water conservation.  However, it costs twice as much as straight plastic mulch but is more environmentally friendly.

-  Eagle Creek Farms does have a permit to pump out of the nearby creek to fill up below 10,000 gallon tank which is usually good for the week.  New raised tray strawberries require twice daily watering but other crops generally only require weekly watering.

-  Grass, fall rye or clover cover crops between the rows is another component of this holistic approach.  The cover crop helps with weed control, erosion of soil and adding nutrients back to the soil compared to fallow land.  It also has an added benefit for their customers who are often from the city and do not come to the country with appropriate clothing or foot wear.

About four years ago they began offering CSA (Community Shared Agriculture).  In initial year they had approximately 80 members and are now up to 300.  It takes detailed planning to make sure their obligations to the members are satisfied.

They also have chickens to offer Heritage Egg Shares in addition to their Vegetable Shares.  They are in partnership with Country Thyme Farm who grows the herbs and offers their own Grain Flour shares.  They deliver weekly throughout the summer but get the money up front which helps pay for supplies, labour, etc.  This provides a guarantee sale for the farm throughout the season compared to Farmer's Market where sales can be slow on rainy days.

Eagle Farms has a facility where they can store their product so they can continue to offer Winter Vegetable Shares.

The same facility also houses their Farm Store.

The Sunflower Maze is a further diversification of the farm into the Agritourism arena.

John makes sure to capitalize on any advertising opportunity that comes his way such as an article about the Sunflower Maze in Red Deer paper and a CBC segment on CSA.  He also utilizes Facebook, Email Newsletter and a Blog to provide further advertising.

Eagle Creek Farms was a very unique diversified holistic experience and a good example of a horticulture business that has created their own niche within the market.