Producers

Food producers is a general term used to describe those in our area that grow vegetables and/or animals for sale. These people may be established larger-scale ranchers and farmers, or back-yard gardeners. As well, producers make honey, preserves, and other specialty from-the-farm products.

Our producers all live within the Nechako Valley and have their goods available to customers directly (just call them), or during the Farmers' Market in the summer. Many of our producers also advertise from their Facebook pages, so please if you are on Facebook, find your favorite farmers and Like their pages.

To find a producer in our area, please view our Producer Directory - a printed directory of some of our local producers. If you are a producer but aren't on our list, please contact the NV Food Network.

In the coming months, we will be creating an online directory of producers in our area. Please, send us your information if you'd like to be part of our online directory.

Producer Profiles

Read below some short bios of some of our local producers. We will be adding to these profiles over the coming months. Keep coming back to learn more!

Maxine's Greenhouses

Maxine's Greenhouse

Perhaps the oldest single family owned business in Vanderhoof
started 38 years ago by Eileen Bjornson's Mother â€¦ from one small greenhouse
Today, five greenhouses: 1 starter house, 1 tree & shrub house, 1 contract house, and 2 'selling' greenhouses
In March/April, Maxine's Greenhouse accepts pots and planters for contract planting. Special arrangements are created in your own containers. Good discounts available when customers bring in their own planters and pots.
Beginning of May, Greenhouse opens for regular business â€“ selling flower and vegetable starts.Â Remains open until the beg of June.
Fruit trees and berry bushes are also available at Maxine's.
Hours (in May): 9:30 - 5:30 Monday - Saturday, 1:00 - 4:00 Sundays

Newsat Farms

Fresh Rabbit meat available on order every week. Frozen rabbit meat available all year. Pasture raised chicken available for order. These chickens graze on unsprayed oat and pea crops.

Exciting News In Spring, Newsat Farms will be the site of a new micro fixed Abattoir. This will be a government inspected facility for the processing of poultry (chicken, duck, turkey, quail, etc.) and rabbits. Newsat Farms will hold a Class A license which means that any meat processed in the facility may be marketed to retail outlets. Anyone may take their live birds or rabbits to the facility to be processed either for their own consumption or for sale to others.

Plans include a weekly harvesting day on Friday followed by a Farm Fresh Saturday in the small shop in front of the Abbatoir. Farm Fresh Saturday would offer fresh local baking, free range eggs, and fresh selections of poultry and rabbit meat for sale to locals.

Nechako Pastures

Grass Fed Beef

locally owned and operated as a small proprietor custom feed and finish farm (Gary or Judy Blattner 250-567-4850) jg19y@hwy16.com
Angus beef, born and raised in the Nechako Valley
NO artificial hormones. Government inspected
Beef is grown naturally and slowly on a combination of high quality pasture, hay, and forest range.
SAVINGS: Purchase a quarter, side, or whole beef and save! (T-bone steak at the grocery store can cost $9 or more per pound but at Nechako Pastures, you pay only $2.75 a pound)
HEALTHY: Four times more omega 3 than grain fed feedlot beef
Three to four times more conjugated linoleic acid
Lower in total fat to reduce your LDL cholesterol and caloric intake
Order a side or purchase individual cuts at the Farmer's Market!

Stuart Nechako Bee Club

The Stuart Nechako Bee Club is a group for anyone interested in beekeeping. All topics are discussed at the quarterly meetings, held in Vanderhoof, Fort Fraser, or Fort St James. Contact Stuart Nechako Bee Club
Box 595, Vanderhoof BC V0J 3A0
Jon Aebischer
Tel: 250-567-5037

Red Wigglers

Red Wrigglers Red Wigglers (Eisenia Fetida): The Vermicomposting Worms! Source: REAPS Vermicomposting pamphlet

Best worms for vermicomposting because they thrive on organic materials.
Call the REAPS hotline: 250-561-7327 to find local (Prince George) suppliers.
For every 1 pound of kitchen wastes per day, you need approximately 2 pounds of worms (approx. 2000 worms)
Red wigglers produce 2-3 cocoons per week for 6 months to a year once they reach sexual maturity in 3-4 weeks from hatching.
Each cocoon will contain 1 â€“ 14 babies, which will hatch in approx. 3 weeks.

The cocoons appear white when first produced and gradually turn to a deep brown-red color before hatching. They will only breed to the holding capacity of the bin, so no overpopulating.

The Nechako River

The Nechako River is, in many ways, the lifeblood of this region. We are somewhat spoiled by a wealth of water in this area, and it is easy to take it for granted. However, it is worth remembering what bounty it provides. The Nechako has long been a transportation corridor, originally for First Nations, then explorers and pioneers. It's surprising to learn that paddleboats once traveled this river. The river is a water supply for an array of wildlife and for some agriculture and is a major stop for many migrating birds. There are several resident fish in the Nechako including Rainbow Trout, Dolly
Varden, Whitefish, and the endangered White Sturgeon. Two types of salmon, the Chinook, and the Sockeye return to the Nechako to spawn.

We are fortunate to have the Nechako River in our back yards, even in its diminished (ie dammed) form, and should stay mindful of protecting it, particularly now with salmon runs under such great threat. According to National Geographic 'key elements of a successful water stewardship program are conserving water, eliminating or reducing the use of substances that pollute water, and avoiding activities that damage aquatic ecosystems'.

~contributed by M. Sullivan

Heartland Quality Foods

Would you like to buy local, fresh, seasonal, sustainable, and organic/natural food all year round? Farmers in Kamloops created a Cooperative and opened a small retail store with cold storage. Hence Heartland Quality Foods!

How it Works:

50% of the customer base are commercial operations, other 50% are drop-in and weekly customers
Meat, dairy, bakery, and some greenhouse and root crops are available year round.

How did they create this wonderful store?

Obtained some funding from Interior Health
Conducted a feasibility study
Contacted farmers within a 100-mile radius of Kamloops to see if they were interested
Formed a cooperative
Launched the business!

For more information:
heartlandfoods@telus.net
www.heartlandfoods.ca
Phone 250-374-6693

Please contact the Nechako Valley Food Network if you are interested in being part of a Farmer's Cooperative in Vanderhoof.

Mobile Docking Station

The Mobile Docking Station is a mobile processing plant for poultry and rabbits. The station is a place for poultry and rabbit farmers to bring their animals to the unit for processing in an efficient and safe environment that meets regulatory standards. This project is an initiative of the Cariboo-Central Interior Poultry Producers Association.

There will be stations in Prince George, Quesnel, and 100 Mile starting in the summer. Hopefully, there will be a Mobile Docking Station at TD Fehr Farms (Tom and Dana Fehr) in Vanderhoof.

Dana Fehr is Vice President of the Cariboo-Central Interior Poultry Producers Association. Please contact Dana for more information, and how to book a timeslot for the MDS in either one of the three communities. Contact Dana at TD Fehr Farms 250-567-5420 or tdfehr@sinkutwireless.ca.

TD Fehr Farms

DLK Wheat

DLK Wheat has been in the flour business for almost a year now. The supply of wheat that they have now comes from an organic grower in Quesnel, but they will also buy from our local farms if the supply is here. The price of wheat differs from the seasons and the amount available.

In the future, they hope to expand into a large milling facility and see their flour on the grocery store shelf. They would also like to get into different grains such as rye and other high protein grains.

Don and Linda are both from farming backgrounds and are looking for some way to farm and work at the same place, be self-employed with the cost of food rising. They started by making flour for themselves, their family, and friends.

Most of all, they enjoy taking something simple and turning it into a product that is essential to living, they enjoy working together and the marketing of the flour gives them a chance to meet all kinds of people.

The process of making the flour is time-consuming but very gratifying. See our photo gallery for an example of small scale wheat processing.

Borno Farm

Veggie Bins: weekly bins of freshly harvested, local, organic vegetables available from late June to early October. prices ranged from $15/week at the beginning of the season to $30/week at peak season.

Veggie Bins include (but are not limited to):
â—ÂÂpeas â—ÂÂbeans â—ÂÂcarrots â—ÂÂleeks â—ÂÂbeets â—ÂÂpotatoesâ—ÂÂtomatoes â—ÂÂspinach â—ÂÂbeet greens â—ÂÂzucchini â—ÂÂsquash â—ÂÂbok choy â—ÂÂpumpkin â—ÂÂradishes â—ÂÂlettuce â—ÂÂcabbage â—ÂÂbroccoli â—ÂÂcauliflower â—ÂÂbasil, parsley, dill, cilantro, oregano

To reserve your veggie bin for Summer, call Linda & Don Borno or email: lborno@yahoo.ca

Mary and Don Coulter's Unique Garden Offerings

You won't find run of the mill shrubs, plants, and trees at this location. Don and Mary are self-professed environmentalists whose purpose is to "keep the earth alive". And that is what they are doing on their property on Layton Road in the Braeside area. Without the help of any chemicals, they lovingly grow plants from carefully chosen seed [i.e. J.L.Hudson, Seedman] as well as seeds from their own plants or cuttings. They choose species that are reliable, hardy, and somewhat unique. Some examples of their offerings are gooseberries, currants, lilacs, hollyhocks, irises, roses, numerous shrubs, and herbs. They have a year-round greenhouse with lemon and orange trees.

Mary and Don's garden will open to the discerning gardener starting the last week in May. Drive down Braeside Road approximately 15 km and make a right turn on Layton opposite the dairy farm. Travel down Layton about 6.5 km. A marvelous experience awaits you.

Cliffleigh Syrups

Barb and Tony Williams, of the Bearhead Road area west of Vanderhoof, have been making syrup since 2000. Although it is hugely popular and some customers buy it by the case, Barb and Tony have no desire to go into mass production. It is a small 2 person business and thatâ€™s just the way they like it.

Their mouth watering syrups include tayberry [a hybrid cross of blackberry and red raspberry], black current, black raspberry, and red raspberry.

No two years are alike in this small business. The amount of syrup produced AND the taste of each syrup depends on moose predation [they love the stocks], hail storms, the amount of rain and sun.

Cliffleigh syrups are not just consumed locally; bottles of syrups have made their way around the world in the suitcases of those wanting to bring the taste of Vanderhoof to their family and friends overseas.

Tony and Barb's customers enjoy the syrups on ice cream, yogurt, and a variety of desserts [i.e. cheesecake!] as well as in salad dressing. Barb notes that the red raspberry syrup is especially tasty in a salad dressing. And when you are not eating these syrups, you can drink them. Watered down with water or ginger ale, they are not only delicious but good for you!

Barb and Tony can be contacted at Cliffleigh Farms 567- 5425.

3rd Generation Farm

Little Valley Farms has been in the Fawcett Family for three generations. Currently, Ken and Carol Fawcett along with their four adult daughters operate the farm. To keep the farm productive and economically viable, the family has been diversifying its business as well as investigating new technology.

Although Little Valley Farms has supplied cattle to the commodity market and continues to do so, natural beef is becoming a part of their operations. For the past 2 - 3 years, they have raised and sold natural beef for local customers.

A feasibility study is in progress to determine if investment in an Anaerobic Digester would be worthwhile. This technology turns to waste, even cow manure, into energy and other products. Weed and pathogen-free soil is one useful byproduct that Little Valley Farm may be able to offer the community. A year-round greenhouse could potentially be powered and lit by the 'waste' energy. Community members who are interested in partnering in the greenhouse operation should email littlevalleyfarms@hotmail.com.

"Sweet Sensations"

Sweet Nechako and Blue Mountain Honey are two local, family-owned honey companies. The families are working toward a merger of their businesses and, in the meantime, they cooperate to provide area residents with local, unpasteurized honey at reasonable prices.

Honey Flavours
alfalfa blend
dandelion
goldenrod blend
fireweed

Prices
15 kg pail $80
7 kg pail $40
3 kg pail $20
1 kg pail $10
custom refills at discount prices

Sale Locations
Stores:
Ventin's Vitamin House
Early Bird-Nechako Trading
Verda's Treasures and Times in the Co-op Mall

Homes: Carmen Hill Road (Blue Mountain Honey 250-567-5834)
West 5th & Clark Street (Sweet Nechako 250-567-5037)

Email: sweet02@telus.net

PnR Organics

PnR Organics is a family owned organic vegetable farm in Prince George (Salmon Valley). They deliver weekly bins of vegetables to local customers. A true example of Community Supported Agriculture . . . in action!

The Farm has 13 acre organic vegetable plot, has 6 large greenhouses
delivers weekly vegetable bins and customized veggie bins, operates Farmer's Market Stall, owners have agriculture diplomas from Switzerland, hosts WWOOFers and SOIL Apprentices.

Take a look at their website: www.pnrorganics.com or apply to apprentice on their farm www.soilapprenticeships.org.