Opening the barn doors to the city

Details

Published on Friday, September 9, 2016

By Tony Eu

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

On Sunday, Sept. 18, farms across the province will be hosting Manitoba’s Open Farm Day. Open Farm Day is an annual event put on by the Manitoba government and participating farmers. It’s designed to give people a behind-the-scenes look at our agricultural industry as well as what rural life is like. On Open Farm Day, 44 farms will be opening their doors and putting on events to entertain and enlighten. Among those farms is one located just north of Amaranth.

Sun Dance Charolais is a cattle and grain farm owned and operated by Donald Toms, who has a number of activities planned for the day.

“I’ll have horse drawn wagon rides through the pasture and I’ve got a few young chicks that the kids can play with or hold, the neighbour’s bringing over his pony, so the kids can ride on a pony if they like,” Toms commented. “Also, my dad used to have bees, so I got a few empty bee hives. No bees in them, just to look in there and see what bees do and give them a little bit of information about honey production,” he continued.

There will also be farm equipment around for people to look at and ask questions about.

“I started up about five years ago,” Toms said about participating in Open Farm Day. “I read it in the newspaper and I thought it’d be a good way for people from the urban communities, the cities and that, to connect with farmers,” he explained.

When asked what he thought about Open Farm Day, Toms replied, “It’s a way for people from urban centres to have a chance to go to the farms and see the different farms. It’s a good way for them to connect with the farmers and see what’s happening out in rural Manitoba.” 

He continued, saying, “A lot of the people, especially from the cities, they don’t realize the lifestyle or what’s all involved in food production. It amazes me, actually, how much there is to know about producing food, no matter what it is, eggs, poultry, dairy.”

“I’m about medium sized,” Toms remarked about his farm operation. “I’ve got 100 cows and about 800 acres of grain,” he added.

Toms runs the farm mostly by himself, hiring only one other person, part-time, to help out during the busier summer months.

“Farming is kind of a way of lifestyle, I grew up with farming and you have to like it to do it,” Toms noted about farming. “You have to be really dedicated to the farm, but it’s really enjoyable and I enjoy watching the young calves when they’re born and jumping and playing and watching them grow throughout the year.”

“I enjoy working with livestock,” Toms continued, “it doesn’t really matter what, I got cattle so I enjoy cattle.”

He also enjoys the grain side of his operation. “There’s kind of a satisfaction when you plant some seeds in the ground and you fertilize it and spray it and then, when you harvest in the fall, just to see what it produces.”

Along with the agricultural industry, this year the bed and breakfast industry is joining Open Farm Day.

Organized by the Bed & Breakfast Association of Manitoba, B&Bs across Manitoba will be hosting open houses on the same day as Open Farm Day.

The goal of the event is to answer any questions about staying in B&Bs and to connect the public with the many wonderful B&Bs in our province.

Every B&B participating in the event will have refreshments available and there’s even a prize draw for a one-night stay at the participating B&B of the winner’s choice.

Among the 21 B&B’s participating, are Ann’s Heritage House B&B and Cozee Cornucopia B&B in Neepawa, Fairmount B&B and Tilson Place in Minnedosa and Journey Home Artist Retreat in Waldersee.

For more information on Open Farm Day, visit www.openfarmday.ca, for more information on Manitoba Bed & Breakfast Open House, visit bedandbreakfast.mb.ca.