“My wife Joanne and I, we’ve been at this 30 years now, and although we always had plenty of older folks coming to the farm, we noticed a trend where there weren’t many young people, young families.”
That’s when things changed for the Niestens.
“We decided we needed more than just fresh produce on the shelves to attract people of all ages to the farm,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from about 15 years ago when all we had in our minds was to grow product and try to get someone to buy it. Gradually over the years we’ve been able to make it more of an outdoor adventure.”
It was Niesten’s father Hank who came up with the idea for the Dutch Village at the entrance to the farm complete with a windmill, gardens, walkways and numerous buildings.
The younger Niesten then decided that a few animals would help liven things up and shortly after a corn maze came about.
“This is about as close as most folks are going to get without actually planting the seeds themselves. It’s as close as you are going to be to getting crops right off the field and into your basket.”
He added that wandering around the grounds gives kids and adults an understanding of just what takes place on a family farm.
“Farming is hard work, there’s no doubt about that, but we try to put a different perspective on it — to make it fun as well for us and them,” he said. “Folks get a feel for what is involved, that it can be fun and at the same time provide a good living for farm families. There is an atmosphere to farming, and we want people to get a sense of that atmosphere when they visit our farm.”
Along with miniature goats, horses and donkeys, Hank's features a variety of animals including, a llama, geese, turkeys, rabbits and ducks.
Niesten grows about 50 different varieties of vegetables, along with offering baked goods and preserves.
“We have lots to keep the kids entertained. Saturdays are like a festival, we haul out the bounce tent and the barbecues.”
For Niesten, along with giving people a chance to see first-hand what happens on a farm, he takes every opportunity to emphasize the importance of purchasing fresh local products, not just from Hank’s, but all local agricultural products.
“My son Hank works with me now and there is hope that in the future he and his wife Ashley will take over the farm.”
Hank’s Farm Market is located on Kings Grove Road off Exit 16 in Millville.
Cape Breton Post
