By Martha Tanner - AgriNews Staff Writer

print this article send this article submit / view links find a typo - win a prize

It doesn’t get any fresher than this. Gerry Rochon, owner of Rochon Garden Farms in Edwards snaps a cucumber off a plant in one of his greenhouses, and bites into it with a crunch. Then he invites his dozen or so visitors to do the same. Then it’s off to the strawberry greenhouse, where he chooses the plumpest, reddest berries for his visitors.

"Mmm..." That’s the sound of a dozen or so chefs, restaurant owners and others savouring the taste of that just-picked berry. And when chefs say, "Mmm...", you know it’s got to be good!

Rochon Garden Farms was one of several stops on a two-day tour of Ottawa-area farms, organized by Savour Ottawa July 28 and 29. Savour Ottawa is an initiative spearheaded by Ottawa Tourism, Just Food and the City of Ottawa (Markets Management & Rural Affairs Branches) to develop and promote Ottawa and area as a premier, year-round culinary destination, with robust offerings of local foods and experiences for both locals and visitors to the area. Launched in 2008, it has over 100 farmer, restaurant and supporter members.

"One of our goals is to link farmers and chefs," explains Heather Hossie, coordinator for Savour Ottawa and a member of Just Food (formerly the Ottawa Food Security Council). "This week we will be launching an online inventory (www.ottawatourism.ca/savourottawa) where producers can list what produce they have or where Savour Ottawa members can list what they’re looking for."

Already the tour is paying off for Savour Ottawa members. One restaurant owner tells Rochon how he normally buys a sprig of basil from a wholesaler for $1.25, but picked up a fresh, leafy bunch for $2 at Kiwan Farm on the first day of the tour. Others admit that they have never seen a blueberry bush or a real pepper plant until today.

Other farms on the tour included Upper Canada Cranberries and Clarmell Farm in Ottawa, Acer Farm in Fournier and Proulx Berry Farm in Cumberland. Each day of the tour began with breakfast and a visit to farmer stalls in Ottawa’s downtown Byward Market. Lunch on Day One of the tour was catered by The Branch Restaurant, a Savour Ottawa member, with participation by Ovens Berry Farm, Jambican Studio Garden, Upper Canada Heritage Meat, Countryman’s Estate Winery and Heritage Brewery. On Day Tour, participants were treated to lunch at Acer Farm, where owner Sylvie Dupuis is a Cordon Bleu student, featuring products from Hawk Hill Farm, Excalibur Farm, Mariposa Farm, Domaine du Cervin and Beau’s All Natural Brewery.

At Rochon Garden Farms, tour participants learn that Rochon will have fresh raspberries and cucumbers in his greenhouses until November. Rochon produces mostly for local farmers’ markets, selling his produce at the Byward Market, Ottawa Parkdale Market, Lansdowne Farmers’ Market, St. Paul’s Market and farmers’ markets in North Gower, Metcalfe and Kemptville. He is the third generation on the original farm; his son is the fourth.

"We have a mixed operation, growing 22 different varieties of vegetables," Rochon tells the tour group. "We start in the spring in the greenhouses and grow squash, potatoes and herbs until November. It’s a very diversified operation; if you’re a market gardener, you cannot monocrop."

Rochon has 200 acres of fields, on which he rotates his various crops, and greenhouses on two acres. The 100-acres on the original farm are flat, heavy soil, where the crops have suffered because of the wet conditions this summer. Rochon tells the group that, in a normal year, he pencils in a 25 per cent loss in the fields before he even puts seed in the ground, due to disease, pests and weather. This year, he has lost up to 45 per cent on the original farm. However, he has another 100 acres of sandy, rolling fields which are doing well, with only a 10 - 15 per cent loss.

"Luckily, we only put 20 per cent of our crops here, on the original farm," he says, "and 80 per cent on the sandy fields."

Rochon allows that he actually does better in the retail market in a "bad" year, since he can get a better price for his produce. His competitors are not other local farmers, whom he describes as a "close-knit group", but the big grocery chains and the "big growers", who can bring in produce "dirt cheap". Fortunately for him and other local growers, the demand for locally-grown produce is greater than the supply.

Like all producer members of Savour Ottawa, Rochon has to meet certain standards set by Farmers’ Markets Ontario. Food service members must purchase a certain amount of food that is grown, raised and harvested locally, with different levels of membership. Members may be identified by the Savour Ottawa logo, which assurers consumers that each product or establishment with the logo has undergone a verification process to ensure that they are using local food in their products, or are a local producer.

In May, Savour Ottawa received a grant of $77,000 from the Ontario Market Investment Fund, which helps develop economic opportunities through trade events, marketing campaigns and industry research initiatives that foster partnerships and collaboration to promote Ontario foods.

Related Web Sites