Reaping what they sow

Going natural garners big award for P.E.I. couple

Mark and Sally Bernard of Barnyard Organics in Prince Edward Island have been chosen as Atlantic Canada’s 2012 Outstanding Young Farmers. The annual competition is open to farmers between the ages of 18 and 39 and recognizes those who exemplify excellence in their profession.

Though they might work in what is arguably the world’s oldest profession, the Bernards are anything but old school. Their 550 acres of land has been in Mark’s family for three generations and his father was a typical P.E.I. potato farmer. But Mark and Sally, who met at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, decided to take a different route and go organic.

“It was a business decision based on what was trending,” Sally explains. “Organic farming had a growing rather than shrinking margin.”

It certainly wasn’t an easy decision. Their farm lies deep within the province’s potato belt and it took three years to get their organic certification. They’ve planted plenty of trees and have good buffer zones, but they need to watch the wind carefully. Drifting fertilizer could ruin everything. Sally says their best protection is being on good terms with their neighbours, who support their endeavours and keep them informed about when they’ll be treating their crops.

Currently, Barnyard Organics produces grain and oilseeds (mostly soybeans), and the couple raise broiler chickens, layer hens and sheep, and operate a grain cleaning and soybean roasting operation. The Bernards would like to expand the farm and continue experimenting, moving into food grade grains and increasing their livestock numbers in response to growing local demand for organic meat.

In the meantime, what started out as a purely business decision has developed into something more personal: Mark and Sally have embraced organic farming. “Now the business is secondary to the philosophy,” Sally says.

Winning Outstanding Young Farmer is not the first honour for the young couple. They were awarded Farmer of the Year by the Certified Organic Producers Co-op in 2009 and were given the Nova Scotia Agricultural College’s Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2011. They will compete for the title of Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers at the national event in Charlottetown later this year.

By Denise Flint