Farms across the province take part in Open Farm Days
Shannon Leclair Times Reporter
Have you ever wanted to see what really happens on a farm but have never had the opportunity? On Aug. 24 and 25 the first annual Alberta Open Farm Days is taking place across the province.
On Aug. 24 chefs will partner with Alberta producers to create fresh, right-from-the-farm meals for anyone interested. Details about where these events will be can be found at www.albertafarmdays.com.
“Open Farm Days gives Albertans an opportunity to discover the province beyond the city limits,” said Verlyn Olson, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in a press release.
“This event will highlight the tremendous work our farmers and ranchers are doing to grow the province’s agriculture, agri-food and ag-tourism industries.”
On Aug. 25 over 40 farms across the province will open their gates, free of charge, to allow people to see what their daily operations are like.
One of those farms is Winter’s Turkeys. The Winter family is known for opening up their farm to those interested in learning: each year they are one of the host farms for the annual organic farm tour, which was held Aug. 18 this year.
“I think it’s a (good) education to the public and to those interested to see what goes on whether it be an organic farm or…just to show people how we do it,” said Darrel Winter.
“I think the humane treatment that these birds have and how much we love our work and how good the turkey is, all those things are something that have to be impressed upon to the public I think.”
Four generations of Winters have been raising turkeys as a business, and previous to that Winter said both his father and grandfather had raised them as part of a hobby farm. Winter’s Turkeys offers a wide variety of products, and about 10 per cent of their flock is raised organically and the rest are free-range birds.
“Our organic flock started in 2000. So we do both free range and organic here now. We eat a lot of organic food ourselves and the difficulty that was holding us back from organic product was to have a source of organic grain and when we finally figured that out it was pretty easy to implement organic,” said Winter.
Winter’s Turkeys is open for anyone and everyone to come see from 12 Noon until 4 p.m. on Aug. 25. To find out more information about Winter’s Turkeys, including where to buy their products, go to http://wintersturkeys.ca or to learn more about Alberta Open Farm Days, and to find out what other farms are available for view go to www.albertafarmdays.com.