Immian Wolfe, one of the founding members of LAFS, runs the Organic and Veganic Green Dirt Farm in Texas Creek.  He and his family of five moved back to Lillooet from Aldergrove 5 years ago to farm.  Green Dirt is focusing on growing salad mixes and garlic this year, and have plans to expand to other crops when they have fine-tuned the systems they have in place.  I went out to Texas Creek to do a short interview with him last week.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
“Can you answer that one?” Here’s what I can tell you:  Immian was working for Silver Hills as VP Plant Operations, when he decided to move back to Lillooet, where he grew up.  He says a big part of moving back was because the people are friendly here, and he missed his family and the area.  Immian and his lovely wife Kymbreelee have four children: Arycia, Riella, Isaiah and Ellie.  They moved from the coast with plans to enjoy a more relaxed, outdoor, farming lifestyle, and raise their children in the country.

Can you tell us a about your farming practices?
Veganic growing practices mean that Green Dirt does not use any kind of animal inputs in the growing process.  One of the biggest challenges is weeds.  Stale bedding allows for planting with very minimal weeds.  This technique involves targeting weed seeds in the shallow layer of the soil. They are allowed germinate, and then killed by raking through the soil with a shallow cultivator just prior to planting the crop. During the sixteen-week long season, we are planting twice a week to keep up with the demand.  It is possible that we may have to switch to 4 or 5 plantings a week for tighter management of leaf size but for now, two is making the cut!

When did you get involved with LAFS and why?
Right away – I was on the Area B Agricultural Committee.  When the Agricultural Plan was completed, the SLRD was looking for an organization to implement the Ag Plan and LAFS was created.

Where are your products sold?
Green Dirt Farms salad mixes currently come in Baby Spinach, Baby Arugula, Power Salad Mix, Baby Kale, Lettuce and Spring Mix. They are available in Nature’s Fare, Choices, Spud/Urban Fare, Quality Foods, Buy Low, Nester’s, and the Country Store, and select independent retailers.

What are your plans for the future?
My vision for the future is all about seeing the farm provide for our little family so we can continue to love and work in this amazing area. Over the next couple of years, I intend to get all of the acres we have leased and available into production. Right now the farm is actively using 14 acres of the 24.

As I leave, Immian laughs, “Most people work 9-5, farmers work 5-9, and sometimes a little bit more. With the seasonal nature of only being able to grow things for half the year, you have to work hard during that time.”

What do I know about what LAFS has been doing?
LAFS has accomplished a great deal in the short time since it grew out of the efforts of the SLRD’s Agricultural Area Committee. Already it has identified and received grant funding from a number of sources and used it to deliver workshops providing useful instruction for both farmers and non-farmers. As well, LAFS has begun developing a “face” for the Lillooet agricultural area, and started to implement projects such as the nutritional coupon program and the abattoir feasibility study that will help not only the farmers in our area but its residents as well.
 
What made me want to join the board? 
Over a decade of spending time in the Lillooet area and now 6 years of living here full time I’ve come to love the Lillooet area and the people who have chosen to call it home. I worked at Fort Berens a few years ago and only recently identified that the most enjoyable part of that work for me was the sense that I was helping the community by sharing my passion for it from behind the tasting bar or at events, and hopefully helping to spur further interest in the area that would bring more tourists in due time. It’s out of this that I have started trying to find new ways of engaging with the community and seeing what I can do to help with addressing the challenges that face it. My decision to join the board was also helped by the personal tie of our family farm down Texas Creek Road that is steadily making its way towards becoming a vineyard and winery.

What do I plan to bring to the LAFS Board? 
A notepad and attentive ear! Though I’m beginning to grasp some of the challenges facing farmers in the area and nationwide, I have a lot to learn about the full scope of these issues and the variety of solutions that are arising to address them. Fortunately, it doesn’t require the economics degree I have to understand concepts like the importance of economies of scale in agriculture, but I hope that I will be able to use the ability to frame problems that I developed while undertaking my degree to help contribute to clarity in the board’s discussions and thought processes.

What part of the LAFS mission am I most passionate about? 
As much as buzzwords are not my favourite, the part of LAFS I’m most excited about is the development and implementation of the “agri-tourism” strategy plan. Based on what I’ve come to understand of BC’s wine industry, the more that can be done to bring people into the region and face-to-face with those who are growing and preparing their agricultural products, the better. When people come to see the Lillooet region and its beauty, and have an opportunity to interact with the wonderful people who make it up, they’ll be left with stories that they’ll then take home and share with those they love (or simply post on instagram, haha). These types of visitors won’t just be marketing for us either, they’ll also be contributing to the local economy more broadly over the course of their stays; ensuring not just the viability of the agricultural sector in Lillooet, but also to the viability of Lillooet itself.
To be perfectly clear, I don’t want to see Lillooet become the next Okanagan. Heaven forbid. However, it’s important to try to bring more people into the region in order to realize the positive economic benefits that such visits could bring for Lillooet’s businesses. I’m excited not only to see how LAFS will help generate such visits, but also to see the role it might play in trying to manage them into the future.

Future Thoughts
There’s so much opportunity for growth! Moving into the future I see LAFS continuing to eliminate barriers to entry for new farmers by providing, perhaps, equipment sharing initiatives and centralized infrastructure for processing and storing of agricultural products. In particular, the stories of ice caves at the foot of our local talus slopes has led me to wonder whether it might be possible to construct such facilities on a larger scale. It’s unrealistic to consider projects like these at this stage of LAFS’s development, but we shouldn’t let our dreams be constrained to too great an extent by reality!

Hello LAFS Subscribers! My name is Sarah Petznick, and I have been hired to work for the Lillooet Agriculture and Food Society as their new Executive Director.  I will be taking over from Vivian Birch-Jones and Marianne Gagnon in the coming months, and look forward to meeting those of you whom I haven’t yet! I moved to Lillooet this March, from the coast where I was working most recently for Emergency Management British Columbia.  I have spent the last six years there, five of them studying Sustainable Agriculture at UBC in Vancouver.  My degree is a Bachelor of Science in Global Resource Systems which falls under what is now the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (and used to be the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences/Faculty of Agriculture). I grew up on a farm in the Shuswap, where my Mum bred and raised Welsh Cobs.  We did our own hay, and always had neighbours with fresh eggs and veggies for us. I am very excited to be a part of the LAFS community, and to be working towards a vision of a strong agricultural future for the Lillooet region.  I do think that Guaranteed Rugged or not, we’re definitely BC’s little nugget.  😉  

In January 2018, LAFS surveyed the Lillooet Community to get feedback on the Grow Forward Workshops that were held in 2017, and to get suggestions for future workshops. The survey was filled out by 41 people. Below are the results of the survey.  

Comments: “Great work. But at my stage of life, it’s mostly for fun that I would attend.” “BC Food systems Network gathering here? Fruit Gleaning project of LFM taken over by someone else with funding for coordinator?” “Give more time to notify participants of workshops.” “Making a plant/seed trade would be awesome.” “I thought that the venue for the pruning workshop at Bridge River was excellent. There was lots of parking available and it was easy to find.” “Keep it going!” “I don’t attend as I don’t handle group situations well, so it isn’t lack of interest that keeps me from attending. Your efforts to provide this critical information are appreciated!” “Thank you for all that your group does for the Lillooet community.” “Good job with organizing workshops and keeping people informed.” “Beekeeping!” “Looking forward to the learning!” “Great initiative and thanks to the LAFS Society” “You’re awesome!”

Getting produce and products into stores can be a challenge for small-scale farmers. Lillooet Buy-Low Foods might be able to help! Store Manager Bob Sheridan says Buy-Low is not only capable of offering a lending hand, but happy to do so, and hoping more farmers will take advantage of the opportunity. Buy-Low Foods can distribute locally grown produce to other affiliated stores. If you bring one crate of tomatoes, it’s likely Buy-Low will be able to sell the tomatoes right here in the Lillooet store, but if you bring dozens of crates, than they can be sent out to stores in the Lower Mainland. Prices are determined using a pricing system that allows Buy Low to see what other farmers in BC are getting for comparable produce. In the recent past, Amlec Organic packaged garlic they’d purchased from two local farmers into mesh bags containing three heads each. Lillooet Buy-Low Foods then bought the packaged garlic from Amlec. This is an example of growers coming together to collectively market their produce. Sheridan said the product was popular and encourages others to follow suit. Proper packaging is a key part to taking advantage of this opportunity. “Produce needs to be packed into clean boxes of consistent dimensions”, Sheridan said. Small-scale farmers often use recycled boxes of mismatched dimensions and this makes it harder to distribute their produce. If you have any more questions about working with Buy-Low Foods to get your produce into stores, Bob Sheridan is happy to help. Photo Credit: Matthew Davidson from Amlec Organics

Seedy Saturday was a big success again this year. 112 people came to the event and about 25 stayed for the Tiny Talks in the afternoon. During the first half of the day, seed vendors, a seed library, and information booths vied for the attention of the growing crowd of attendees. There was also an art corner for kids, a café that sold delicious food made from local ingredients, and a winnower set up outside to clean people’s seeds. During the second half of the day, four short presentations were given by local gardeners and farmers. The first presentation, titled “Reclaiming Soil with Hugelkultur”, was given my Denise O’Laney. She explained the benefits of a no-till approach to gardening and showed a power-point presentation which detailed the steps involved in creating a hugelkultur garden bed. The second presentation was titled “Soil Health” and was given by Trevor Chandler. He spoke about the delicate ecosystem that is our soil and how to best protect and manage it. The third presentation, given by Mojave Kaplan, was titled “Integrating Seed Saving Into Your Garden”. Her power-point presentation guided us through the process of selecting fruits and vegetables from which to collect seeds. Finally, Matthew Davidson gave us a presentation titled “Amlec Food Security Project”. He told us about how the project was started, its many challenges and successes and its current situation. After each presentation, 15 minutes were allowed for questions, and in each case, we easily filled that time. The participants were eager to learn and excited by the topics. Photo Credit: Mischa Chandler

LAFS would like to welcome its new Executive Director, Angela Bissat. Angela was born in Flint, Michigan and raised in Davison, Michigan. She first moved to Lillooet in 1983 and lived here for 15 years before moving away to Phoenix in 1998. She has now been back in Lillooet since 2008 and operates the consulting and grant writing business Al-I Initiatives. Angela is the mother of three sons, and has one granddaughter. She has a Bachelor of Science degree with dual majors in Management & Business Administration from University of Phoenix. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree at age 42 while a single mom to 3 teenage boys. Since returning to Lillooet, Angela has been involved with many initiatives in Lillooet including the Chamber of Commerce, the Rowing Club and, more recently, the Wildfire Recovery Assistance Program. “I like to see things grow and develop.” Angela explained. “In my case, it isn’t produce or livestock, but the business of agriculture, tourism, etc. It’s exciting to see a new project brought forth from an idea through the development process. In a way it’s similar to raising kids! I’m so proud when the project is ‘grown’ and on its own.” Bissat has experience in the travel and tourism industry, in logistics, sales, management and business development. She loves to travel, camp and hike, and is a big Detroit Lions and University of Michigan football fan. Angela has already proved herself to be a great addition to the team. LAFS is lucky to have her!

LAFS has been approved for $10,000 in funding to create an Abattoir Feasibility Study! A big thank you to the Province of BC and Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development for supporting this project. The project will fund a feasibility study to establish a local abattoir for the Lillooet region. The goals of the study are as follows: o Determine the economic viability of a licensed abattoir in the Lillooet region o Evaluate the market and assess the financial feasibility of an abattoir o Research and recommend partnerships, training and value-added products o A list of recommendations regarding next steps There is strong interest from local producers to research the opportunities and barriers to establishing an abattoir and related businesses. Producers want to decrease their travel time to licensed facilities. Currently, they must travel approximately 140 kilometres each way. The study will include recommendations on the type of abattoir that would be best suited for our region and possible locations (if location is permanent). Partnerships, training and value-added products will also be researched. A Request for Proposal has been developed and will be distributed in early February. Stay tuned for more updates! Photo Credit: Spray Creek Ranch