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.
