CONDOR, Alta. – Doug and Daena Seland have added country chic to their dairy farm in central Alberta.
Crows Landing Farm started three years ago and has evolved into an organic dairy, market garden, gift shop and tea room that offers visitors home baked bread and healthy lunches.
A major advantage is the farm’s location on a main highway leading to Rocky Mountain House, Alta., and vacation destinations. There is a steady stream of drop-in customers as well as visitors from Edmonton and Calgary looking for a farm experience.
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“There are a lot of people who want the 100 mile diet and we make it a nice experience for them,” Doug said during an agricultural tour held last month.
The Selands started with an on-farm gift boutique offering country themed art, crafts and other local artisan products. Guests asked if they could get a coffee and a cookie while they shopped so they decided to add an old fashioned café complete with a lunch counter. Organic salads, soups and sandwiches are on the menu.
“We didn’t know how many people would come,” Daena said.
She now bakes six dozen buns every morning for the lunch time rush. She does not have a bread maker but instead makes small submarine style buns and dinner rolls by hand. With the help of a part-time employee, she serves 30 to 50 meals five days a week.
The farm became a certified organic dairy in January with 50 milking cows on about 800 acres of deeded and rented land.
The cows are a Holstein base but the Selands started crossing them with Friesians to build hybrid vigour. The bull calves are fed out and sold as natural grass fed beef from the store.
This fall the farm will be among eight Alberta producers who supply Saxby Processors, a new organic milk plant in Edmonton.
Most organic milk now sold in Alberta stores comes from British Columbia.
Once the processor is running, the Selands plan to sell their milk and ice cream from the store.
In addition, the market garden was planted this spring, producing mainly root crops such as potatoes, carrots and beets. The U-pick will be opened to the public in September.
