FARMERS AT THE TABLE Three Dufferin farmers sit down to talk about what it means to be a modern farmer, the challenges they face and what they wish we knew about them. BY ANTHONY JENKINS PHOTOGR APHS BY PE TE PATERSON
F
ood is easy. Open the fridge, load a supermarket cart, dine out or order in. Farming is difficult. It’s complex, misunderstood, labourintensive, and subject to the vagaries of weather, politics, global markets, urban development, climate change, and the boardroom decisions of multinational corporations. As feeders of the populace and stewards of the land, today’s large-scale farmers must wear many hats, not just a weathered, sweat-stained ball cap to keep the sun off out in the fields. They must satisfy a burgeoning metropolitan public’s insatiable demand for food, at the cheapest possible prices, and are subject to an equally voracious suburban development industry’s appetite for their farmlands. They must dance with global corporations who supply them and whom they supply, compete with foreign food imports, manage their land toward a sustainable future while dealing with arduous here-andnow environmental rules and regulatory bodies – and make a living in a business notable both for staggering investments in land and equip ment and for often razor-thin margins. In advance of the annual Dufferin Farm Tour, on a balmy midafter noon when their fields were surely calling, Dufferin farmers Bert Tupling, Mike Swidersky and Darryl Burnett sat down with us for a roundtable discussion in the boardroom of Tupling Farms in Melancthon At the last minute, Darryl joined the group by Zoom from the cab of his tractor. Both Mike and Darryl are featured in this fall’s farm tour video which launches October 2. Bert has participated in the past.
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The Pandemic Anthony Jenkins for In the Hills : First let me ask about the most recent challenge. How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your market or the way you do business? Bert Tupling : Sixty-five per cent of our potatoes go out to the food service sector; 35 per cent go to some type of retail. We have a contract that supplies Swiss Chalet and stores they’re associ ated with, like Kelsey’s and Montana’s for their fresh-cut french fries. When the pandemic first happened, our sales switched: 65 per cent went to stores and retail, 35 per cent went to the food service sector. In the next year or so we switched back. Today, we’re back to where we were. Mike Swidersky : Getting supplies,
parts, it’s been more challenging, whether it’s hardware or machinery parts. You can’t just walk up to a
counter and get stuff. As far as selling product, selling lambs, our lamb market has been outstanding. More people were wanting to cook from home, especially a luxury item like lamb. Canadian lamb producers produce only 40 per cent of our market. Most of the food service and restaurants are serviced by imported lamb. When that stopped due to Covid, our market share actually increased. AJ : Throughout the pandemic it seems people have been wanting to know where their food comes from and to support local businesses, especially smaller market garden farmers who sell direct to the consumer. Has that been a boon to local farmers? MS : Bert’s a beef producer. If I buy beef,
top-end steaks or roasts – whether it’s Bert’s or some of the other many beef producers in Dufferin – from Zehrs or any of the grocery stores, that’s local produce.
