KESWICK, N.B. – Shortly after David Coburn cut down most of his apple
orchard, his phone was ringing off the hook.
W.B. Coburn & Sons Farm, a short drive northwest of Fredericton, sits
along the St. John River in a prime real estate area.
He could sell one acre river lots for $50,000, and others for $25,000.
“It’s great for a retirement option but what does that say about
agriculture?” he said.
The Coburn farm has been in the family for nearly 200 years – since
Read Also
Alberta may eliminate marked fuel
Alberta may soon stop selling dyed gasoline and diesel.
1806.
It’s gone through many changes, including the recent demise of the
100-acre orchard to a small plot of 10 acres. In 1996, the farm had one
of its best apple crops ever. On Aug. 30 that year it was hailed out.
Coburn said crop insurance premiums cost him $9,200. His other inputs
were $110,000, and he was still required to harvest what was left.
Crop insurance paid out $23,000.
“There is no money left in the apple industry today,” he said.
“Farming has to be profitable.”
That statement is key to Coburn Farm, which has diversified and focused
on value-added.
He processes leftover apples into 70,000 litres of unpasteurized cider
each year.
A trial of low-cost vegetable production led him to a 7,200 sq. foot
organic greenhouse pepper operation. There are three kinds of hot
peppers as well as purple, orange, black, yellow, red and chocolate
varieties.
They sell for $2.50 a pound, compared to a cost of production of half
that.
But the real driver on this farm is the 25,000 laying hen operation and
the composting system Coburn began in 1992.
He composts all the farm’s organic waste into a product he calls
Natural Gold. He sells it in bags and in bulk mainly by word-of-mouth
to home gardeners within a 45-kilometre radius of the farm. That’s a
market of 100,000 people.
It sells for $40 a yard or $90 for a half-ton truck load.
He said the chickens produce 1,100 tonnes of manure each year, which is
composted with straw bales.
“We are not a large volume composter, but composting fits into this
farm.”
Coburn said he has heard few complaints about odour from his neighbours
because of what he feeds his chickens.
“There are 85 houses downwind and 60 across the road,” he said.
“We farm at the pleasure of our neighbours.”
His feed ration, mixed in a computerized feed mill on the farm,
contains the yucca extract product Deodorase. It reduces ammonia
emissions by 50 percent, Coburn said.
He can run his barn at 24 C instead of 21.
“For (an increase) every one degree Fahrenheit you can decrease feed
consumption by one percent,” he said. “We’ve cut our bill on average
four percent.”
Coburn began mixing his own feed when New Brunswick lost feed freight
assistance in 1995. That added $20,000 to his feed bill.
He brings in the ingredients and mixes them for $40 to $50 a tonne –
cheaper than he can buy pre-mixed.
He has 200 acres of arable land where he could grow his own feed, but
he rents it out.
“I need at least 500 acres to grow enough for the chickens,” he said.
“What can I profitably grow on 200 acres? I’m better off to rent it
out.”
There are no animal byproducts in the feed mix. He uses soy at a bit
more cost but he said it decreases dust levels in the barn and doesn’t
smell as bad. He hasn’t used antibiotics since 1985.
The computer allows him to calculate exactly how much he is spending.
It works out to 93 cents per bird per month.
He has also seen increased production. In 1981, each bird was producing
17.8 dozen eggs on 4.83 lb. of feed. Now, a bird produces 26.1 dozen on
3.1 lb. of feed.
Coburn spent $500,000 on his hen house in 1986. It was the first in New
Brunswick to be fully computerized for full environmental control in
1989.
“Everyone told me free trade and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade) would put me out of business,” he said. “That investment just
sharpened my focus.”
