Day 4 - Miranda

Today we made history, well we made history within this ag tour. For the first time in its seven year history this American ag tour crossed the border into Canada. 

We were up early and while reluctant to roll out of bed the excitement was alive in the air when we saw the welcome to Canada sign at the border. We began our long day in Canada as the sun rose and we saw a setting quite similar and yet different from the states we had already toured. The heavy summer rain that had affected the north east had also affected Canada. However, the height in the corn was clearly taller.

With the sun high in the sky we arrived at out first tour of the day at Strawberry Thyme Farm that grows strawberries and raspberries. We were greeted with the sight of hoop houses and strawberries grown quite different than what we see at home in Florida. The strawberries in the hoop houses are grown in a raised system in substrate instead of soil. This is done to limit the disease that the strawberries would possibly be exposed to in the soil. This allows them to limit the amount of pesticides that would need to be sprayed. The plants would then be moved into cold storage and remain dormant through the winter. The farm will move the remainder of the operation will all plants moved out of the soil. Currently, they still have a majority of the crops in the ground and we saw the rest as we moved towards the back of the farm. 

 

We saw the two varieties of raspberries that they grow which is an ever bearing and a summer variety. The raspberries were currently being pollinated by rented beehives that would move on to the next farm after the flowers were pollinated. We then saw the wheat field that would be used only for the straw cover on the strawberries. The last field that we saw was the remainder of the in-ground strawberries that were being picked at the time. Between the wildflowers and the fresh strawberries being picked in the sun every gust of wind had the most wonderful sweet aroma. As we headed back to the front of the farm. I learned the most interesting fact about the farm which is that they grow strawberries plants for Florida. It was amazing how connected our agriculture is that a farm in Canada grows the plant for Florida of the very strawberries I have eaten. It opened my eyes that there are so many intricate details about agriculture that often go unnoticed by the consumer. In the end we arrived back at the farm office and got to enjoy some delicious fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

With bellies still full of strawberries we arrived at our next location of Lake Erie trout fishery. We drove down a hill to the picturesque location complete with a stream, wildflowers growing in every nook and cranny, and cotton wood seeds falling from the sky that looked like summer snow. While the stream was pretty and sounded wonderful it is actually essential to the work that they do at the fishery. The farm is not a food farm but rather has the goal to restock the population of wild trout in that very stream. Therefore, the entire system is run on the water from the stream so from the time the fish is an egg to when it is 3 years old and ready to be released it is already acclimated to its future home.

  

To start the prosses wild trout are collected from the stream and then milked to collect the sperm and eggs. The fish are released, and the eggs and sperm are mixed together and then placed in incubators. After the eggs hatch, they are moved into the tanks pictured below that has constant flowing water to mimic the environment of the stream. Once they are big enough, they will move outside to a netted area and then the main pond. We walked outside to the main pond area and onto a floating dock in the middle of the pond that gave great access to observe the activity of the fish. However, because of the previous days heavy rain the water was too murky for us to see the adult fish. As we stood in the middle of the pond and could look over and see the stream where the fish would soon be released you could really feel how full circle the operation is. We left the fishery knowing the fish were in good hands and would one day help increase their wild population numbers.

Next on our day packed full of adventure was Great Lakes Apple Farm a beautiful sight from the road of driving past rows upon rows of apple trees to drive up to a little self-service farm stand. We drove past the stand to the educational building and was greeted by one of the lovely farmers. She spoke to us about the whole production of the apple throughout their seasons. The trees produce buds after the harvest in fall and keep the buds on the trees though winter even though they lose all their leaves. During the winter the most important care is making sure the buds don’t freeze because if they do, they won’t produce an apple. This is accomplished by using a helicopter or large circulation fans to push the warm air down when the temperature dips below freezing.

The trees are also pruned during the winter to help prevent them from becoming leggy. After the winter the trees move into spring where they regrow their leaves and produce a bulb where the flower once was. During the summer the fruit rely begins to grow into an apple. Finally, in fall, the apples will be harvested and sold at local stores and markets. After learning the seasons of apples, we got the opportunity to try apple cider and healthy snacks that the farm makes for the local schools. That was the best apple cider I have ever had. It was cold and tasted like fresh juicy apples. Again, with bellies full we set out but this time on a trailer ride around the farm and learned more unique things about their operation. The main thing we learned about is their integrated pest management or IPM. This type of practice is meant to reduce the use of chemicals on the farm. They paint the bark of the young trees white to prevent them from getting too hot and splitting as the split in the bark allows disease to enter.

Additionally, they set insect traps around the farm to monitor the number of certain pests they have so that if needed they can spray for that specific pest. Finally, to end the tour we picked our own strawberries from the small field on the farm. I can say for certain that one of the best feelings in the world is picking a strawberry off the plant and it still being slightly warm from the sun and eating it right then and there. It was one of the sweetest and juiciest strawberries I have had in a long time.