ROSTHERN, Sask. – Experience, determination and a willingness to put in a honest day’s work go a long way toward ensuring success in agriculture.
Phillip and Kristen Harder admit they may be short on the first, but they think they have more than enough of the second and third to build a successful farming operation.
This spring, the Harders will embark on an ambitious new career in community supported agriculture.
The couple will plant 7,000 row feet of vegetables on a quarter section of land 11 kilometres west of Rosthern, Sask.
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The Harder Farm is selling community shares in its production, with half shares priced at $250 and full shares at $450.
Shareholders will receive a box of fresh, farm-grown vegetables every week for approximately 15 weeks, said Phillip.
Contents of the weekly boxes will vary depending on the time of year, but the couple is hoping full shareholders will receive an average of 10 pounds of produce per week beginning in July.
The first boxes will contain early-maturing vegetables such as lettuce and green onions. Later boxes will contain peas, radishes, carrots, beans, beets, corn, tomatoes, potatoes and pumpkins.
“The whole CSA model is based on the fact that … we didn’t want to take on a whole lot of risk and we wanted to have a little bit of consistency in our bottom line,” said Phillip.
“With traditional market gardening, there’s a lot more variability. You’re going to a farmer’s market, you’re selling what’s in season and it really depends on the weather if people are going to show up that day and buy what you have.
“We’ll be selling our vegetables for probably considerably less than if we were to sell them on a per unit basis at a farmer’s market, but hopefully we’ll have a more consistent bottom line and less risk.”
The Harders’ decision to return to their farming roots was based on several factors.
The couple moved to Winnipeg after completing bachelor’s degrees at the University of Saskatchewan, Kristen working at an office job and Phillip as data manager with the Drought Research Initiative.
After a year or so, the pair began assessing their career options and eventually decided to move home.
For Phillip, who grew up on a sheep farm near Clavet, Sask., the idea of returning to Saskatchewan to build a new business was an appealing option.
Kristen, who was raised on a small grain farm near Rosthern, liked the idea of pursuing a simple, rural lifestyle in the area where she grew up.
“We were both in office jobs and … I was getting fed up with working Monday to Friday, nine to five,” said Kristen, who yearned for a career involving outdoor work and lots of fresh air and sunshine.
“We started talking about moving back … starting our own business and being our own bosses. That’s what we really wanted.”
Last spring the couple began searching for a small piece of land with a home.
They eventually settled on a fixer-upper house in Rosthern and then made arrangements to take over a quarter section of farmland west of town.
The land belonged to Kristen’s grandparents, who had been donating it for use by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
The decision to follow a community supported agriculture model seemed like a perfect fit for the new venture.
Kristen and Phillip like the notion of supplying consumers with locally grown, sustainably produced food.
Income is more predictable because annual revenues are based on the sale of shares, Phillip said, and the return on capital investments can be calculated with greater accuracy.
Vegetable production is labour intensive but requires a smaller land base and less investment in machinery and infrastructure than grain farming, added Kristen.
The couple plans to start small, keep costs in check and expand slowly as demand for their shares increases.
“We knew we didn’t have the money to get into grain farming,” Kristen said.
“We wanted to start out small and not invest a lot of money, in case it wasn’t going to work out … but I think you can still grow vegetables on a small scale and make money at it.”
The couple’s goal in their first year is to sell 20 full shares at $450 each.
So far, posters and word-of-mouth have attracted new clients.
The Harders also advertise on Kijiji, a free online classified advertising service, and they recently launched a new website at www.theharderfarm.com.
Shareholders are welcome to help with production, but Phillip and Kristen are expecting to do most of the work themselves.
They have already invested a few thousand dollars into the operation.
They dug a dugout last fall that will supply water to a drip irrigation system.
They also bought a water tank and a used utility tractor that will be used for tillage and general chores.
Last week, the Harders and family members were installing fence posts around the perimeter of their garden area to keep deer and other animals out of the plots.
Land that isn’t used for vegetable production will be rented to a local grain farmer, but the Harders hope to eventually expand production, possibly into fruit or other crops.
In the meantime, income from the farm will be supplemented with salaries from other jobs.
Kristen works seasonal hours as a bookkeeper at her father’s accounting firm in Hague, Sask., about 20 kilometres away.
Phillip’s job as a research assistant at the U of S’s Centre for Hydrology also allows him to work flexible hours.
Kristen and Phillip admit the learning curve could be high in the first year, but they are excited to get the new venture up and running.
They are hoping it will eventually become a full-time occupation.
“For me, I’d say we’re not getting into this to make a lot of money,” said Kristen. “We just want to enjoy our lives, to be outside, to work outdoors and have fun at what we do.”
BIOGRAPHIES
Phillip and Kristen Harder
Education: Kristen has a bachelor’s degree in human geography and Phillip has a bachelor’s degree in physical geography from the University of Saskatchewan
Background: Phillip grew up on a sheep farm near Clavet, Sask.
Kristen grew up on a grain farm near Rosthern, Sask.
Job experience: Both had office jobs in Winnipeg
2010: Moved to Rosthern to farm land owned by Kristen’s grandparents
Supplemental income: Kristen works as a bookkeeper in Hague. Phillip is a research assistant at the Centre for Hydrology at the U of S. He is working on a certificate in prairie horticulture at the U of S
