Better Farming - December 2016

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Better Farming December 2016 Like Us on Facebook: BetterFarmingON 35
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(to each other) you know, what a
shame that we’ve never been to our
own East Coast. I said, we need to do
this in August. Steve says impossible.
I said no, we have to make this work.
We were there for a week.
STEVE: Cape Breton and the
whole works.
For us it’s a trip but it’s always more
than a trip. We’re always looking at
the agriculture part of it, environmen-
tal part of it, and we’re looking at the
agritourism part of it. We’re looking
at how people run their businesses.
Number of hours in the office each day?
STEVE: An hour for me. How many
hours would you spend at the com-
puter, Anita, six?
ANITA: At least.
What do you like best about farming?
ANITA: I love the production. If I
could spend more time out doing
production again, that would be a
great next step for me.
STEVE: Being outside, being in
production, growing things. Not
doing the same thing every day.
What do you like least?
ANITA: The lack of freedom for time.
Everything is scheduled. Can you fit it
in; can you fit that in?
STEVE: Anita and I are the type of
couple that we can work together all
day and still look at each other at
night. So that part of it I miss. I mean,
we used to work together on the farm
(when we grew tobacco).
ANITA: That’s what (we miss), that
we have time to work together.
STEVE: The frustrating thing to
me I guess right now (too) is the
bookwork Anita has to do. She’s really
tied down to it.
ANITA: For example, the tobacco
seedling production, that was my
baby. I’d clip the plants. I’d water the
plants. When Steve started propagat-
ing lavender plants, that’s my job.
And it’s really, really tough for me to
let go of something and let him take
that over. I didn’t have the time to do
that anymore. So I had to give up on
a lot of those things.
What is the single most important piece of
advice you’ve received?
ANITA: Farming must create profit,
not create work. We’re not doing
things just to keep ourselves busy.
This is a business.
What’s your management philosophy?
ANITA: We like to farm using good
agricultural practices. Our winemak-
ing philosophy is to grow grapes that
we can successfully grow on a farm
that we live on, not trying to do what
someone else is doing. (We want to)
successfully grow grapes and then ask
our winemaker to make the best wine
that he can from it. It’s the reason
why we’ve selected the varieties that
we did. Not because we think they’re
superior cultivars but we believe
them to be superior cultivars for our
farm.
Are you currently involved in any commit-
tees, boards, associations, or volunteer
efforts?
ANITA: Director, Ontario South
Coast Wineries & Growers Associa-
tion; director, Norfolk Fruit Growers’
Association; member, Norfolk
Agricultural Advisory Board.
What are your hobbies or recreational
activities?
ANITA: I love to read a book – that is
my relaxation. Steve’s not a reader but
his relaxation is sporting.
What does your family think of farming?
ANITA: Our parents, our families,
they take a look at what we’ve done in
our transition and they’re happy that
we’ve found something that we love to
do to continue in farming.
STEVE: The kids are quite interest-
ed in what we’re doing.
ANITA: We’ve always told them to
do what you love to do. As far as them
continuing in agriculture, I still find
that they’re relatively young.
They have to find their passions
and follow their passions.