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Jordan Marr
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Photo by Ian Stewart
Homestead Farm
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Photo by Ian Stewart
Homestead Farm 2
JORDAN MARR
The Homestead
www.thehomesteadorganicfarm.ca
Following a season-long bicycle-tour of farms in Oregon, California and Eastern Canada, and two years at Ragley Farm on Vancouver Island, Jordan Marr and his then fiancé (now wife) Vanessa Samur moved to the Okanagan to start their organic farming business in 2011. Vegetables, herbs and some fruit are grown and sold mainly through a home delivery program, with some products sold at farmers’ markets, selected grocery stores and to Okanagan chefs.
I am proud to be a farmer today because of the ever-increasing body of evidence linking healthy soil, healthy plants and healthy people. I spend a considerable amount of time and resources trying to foster microbial life in my soil, and I think my crops are healthier for it.
A good day at the office includes getting the harvest in and deliveries out on time, then shooting the breeze with my customers. I sell to a number of restaurants in the region and I really enjoy visiting the kitchens. It’s cool talking with people who are as passionate about cooking good food as I am about growing it.
A hard day at the office includes busted irrigation lines, too many beds to plant, and tools that go missing without a trace.
My greatest inspiration comes from witnessing my practices (and crops) improve each year with experience. I spend a good chunk of the winter on crop planning and research and it’s slowly making me a better farmer.
My advice to others looking to start a farm business today is don’t bite off too much at once. Focus on one or two crops instead of trying to master too much too soon. Some new farmers decide to be veggie growers and beekeepers and raise poultry all at once. It’s a quick way to burnout.
- See more at: http://www.orchardandvine.net/api/pv/Ci67a1ZH53KmVWkMk8WPvd5REmLozObQI7DIjI4ShHRiJCqLijvODAT5PsxtFFYd/++/today%E2%80%99s-farm-entrepreneurs-part-2/#sthash.19oix1YX.dpuf
