GERALD, Sask. – Farmers are so driven to diversify, they braved a rainy, cold, miserable Saskatchewan day to attend a recent herb and spice field day near here.
“I need new ways to diversify my farming efforts. Maybe spice is it,” said Eddy Kish of Cupar, Sask., who was on the tour with his father and uncle.
Kish’s interest was echoed by most other farmers attending last week’s field day.
In the past year the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association has quadrupled its membership.
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“We are now going to be able to show Canada and the rest of the world that this province can supply spice,” said association president Brian Petracek.
Providing the market with a steady supply of spice is one of the association’s goals.
“Producers are going to have to work together to capture this market,” said Petracek.
More than 135 people slogged through the wet fields to look at fields and test plots of dill, caraway, coriander and borage.
A new experience
For many farmers it was the first time they had seen the plants or the spices themselves.
Farmers are usually not aware what a wide variety of herbs and spices can be grown on the Prairies, said Sherry Kalmakoff of Veregin, Sask., a herb producer and a member of the SHSA board of directors.
“It has never been considered an option, people have just not been aware of it.”
It’s not only farmers who have to learn about Saskatchewan’s young industry.
During the recent Canadian Spice Association annual convention in Montreal, “they didn’t even know we existed,” Petracek said.
Market potential
At the University of Saskatchewan, Branka Barl has identified 15 herbs that can be grown in the province and that have market potential.
The head of Saskatchewan Herb Research Centre said farmers should work together and focus on a few varieties to produce a high-quality product and a dependable supply.
“You as farmers will have to organize. We cannot do as much on our own as we can together.”
