Of the many important factors that drive the economy of the municipality of Meaford, agriculture is at the top of the list.
The Meaford Economic Development Strategy (MEDS) which was completed last year with the help of a large team of local residents, identified four pillars of focus for driving economic growth within the community. Agriculture is one of those pillars.
So too is 'Green Business', and as was found during the MEDS exercise, the four pillars though separate and distinct, often rely on one another, and at times, they can merge completely.
Agriculture like most other industries, has experienced pressures in recent years to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. With that push toward green agri-business, we have seen a proliferation of organic farms, local food retail outlets, and many area restaurants have begun to feature local and organic items on their menus.
At Sunrise Organics in Meaford, the need to practice sustainable farming has been fully embraced. The 33 acres of land at Sunrise is dedicated to growing a crop that Meaford has become famous for- apples. They don't just grow apples though, they do so using organic growing techniques that result in an operation that is healthy for their land, and for those who consume their products.
As the owners of Sunrise Organics explained to The Independent, Mark Grahlman, who has been farming apples for more than 30 years began studying the building of soil using compost and compost teas during his time managing another local orchard that had some 500 acres of organic apple trees that were primarily used for juice production.
Mark's research into composting became a passion, and is an art that he has been striving to perfect. As a result of his hard work the quality of apples produced at the orchard of his former employed increased to the point that they made for top quality store ready apples.
The use of actively aerated compost tea has become the nourishment, defense and creator of biological life in the Sunrise Organics orchards, and gardens. The development of this organic compost and a finely tuned and monitored brewing process to produce a compost tea that is easily sprayed on plants, gardens or cultivated fields for their own on farm use, has brought about a sideline business selling their compost and tea to other farms and to weekend gardeners.
Another development in the apple industry is one that has been noticed by anyone who has driven past a local orchard in recent months- old apple trees are being pulled from the ground. This however is not a necessarily a sign that the apple industry is no longer viable. As Grahlman explained, many local apple growers including Sunrise are taking the opportunity to retire older, less productive trees in order to improve efficiency.
“This spring we removed all of the beautiful old apple trees to make room for new varieties and better producing younger trees,” said Grahlman.
Any modern farmer will tell you that with the financial realities of operating a farm today, any opportunity to generate new revenues, or to increase efficiency must be explored, and this has forced farmers to become creative and resourceful. As with the compost, the replacement of these older trees presented Sunrise Organics with another opportunity for generating revenues- the sale of wood from those apple trees.
“We will be replanting about 16 acres of apple orchard and keeping the rest for our garden, our horses and chickens,” said Grahlman, “Our animals are strictly there for our pleasure, some eggs, and the pleasure of others. They produce valuable manure that will be used in our compost and will be allowed to live out there natural lives with us in exchange.”
Clearly Meaford's Agri-Business and Green Business pillars are working together to give area farmers a competitive edge, and to help forge a reputation of Meaford as being home to progressive, creative, and resourceful farmers who are dedicated to producing a quality product that is full of nutrition- for both you and our land.
To learn more about Sunrise organics, you can visit their website: www.sunriseorganics.net
