Eco-Farm Day

I spent Saturday in Cornwall at the Eastern Ontario’s Organic Farming conference. It was absolutely wonderful and I’m so glad I went. The attendance was over 400 people, far beyond the expectations of the organizers, and almost beyond the capacity of the venue.

I listened to Eliot Coleman give the keynote address, in which he talked about Antaeus, son of Poseidon and Gaiahe and said, “All farmers have their own earth wisdom”.

I went to a session on northern climate permaculture led by Ken Taylor of Windmill Point Farm, on N.D. de L’Ile Perrot. He had the most succinct definition of permaculture I’ve ever heard, and the first one I’ve heard that makes sense for this climate zone: Permaculture = Organic Farming + Trees. He had a lot of fascinating things to say about fruit and nut trees and how they fit into a farm or homestead.

I went to a session on building log fences which was presented by Mr. Eugene Fytche who has made the study of log fences his life’s work. The best part of that presentation was when part way through, one of the audience members put up his hand and said, “Well, the way my grandfather taught me how to do it was…” Now I know how the old fences on the edges of my property were built, and why there were built that way, and how to build new ones.

I went to a session led by members of Tourne-sol Co-operative Farm who took us through the economics of growing vegetables for a CSA and/or Farmer’s Market. I learned that Brussles sprouts aren’t profitable, but apparently purple carrots are. And that you can make a small but respectable living on very little acreage if you’re willing to work hard enough.

And in the halls, and in the line-ups, and in the dining room, and in the trade show area, and in the sessions, I met and spoke to people about rearing chickens and planting trees and protecting watersheds and buying local and tilling the soil.

Throughout, I felt like I belonged to a community of people who were not only trying to make a difference, but people who were actually out on the front lines making a difference every day, by choosing to farm differently.

Now if it would just warm up so that I can actually get outside and start digging…