Weekly organic produce baskets by subscription
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by George Fullerton
Eva Rehak and Alain Rousselle figure they’ve found their lives’ sweet spot. The couple and their three children – Rose, Claire, and Jakob – operate Alva Farm in Saint-Maurice, N.B., a short distance west of Bouctouche.
Alva Farm is a certified organic vegetable and fruit operation that markets its produce through community-supported agriculture (CSA) subscriptions and at the farmers’ markets in Bouctouche and Dieppe.
Both Rehak and Rousselle shared the dream of becoming farmers.
Rehak was born to Czech parents in Paris, France. Her family immigrated to Canada, and she grew up in Mississauga, Ont.
“I loved the outdoors and nature, and I was in the Scouting movement for a long time,” she said. “When I was a small child, I remember telling my mother that one day I would have a farm and animals.”
Rousselle grew up in Tracadie, N.B., and became interested in agriculture after a visit to a friend who worked on a farm.
“I was working on a paving crew in Alberta, which I did not enjoy a lot,” he said. “I visited my friend and the farm he worked on, and I thought to myself, ‘This is the lifestyle I should pursue.’ And that is when I started looking at studying agriculture.”
Rehak and Rousselle met at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College in Alfred, Ont. After completing their agriculture programs and spending about a year employed outside of agriculture, they began to look for a farm of their own.
FINDING A FARM
“We looked at farmland in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick,” said Rehak. “Financially, all the farms were out of reach, except for New Brunswick. We looked at several farm properties, then our real estate agent pointed out that a 125-acre farm had just come on the market at Saint-Maurice.”
Their first impressions of the property were good, and the price was reasonable.
“One very significant feature was that it had a house … important when you are six months pregnant,” said Rehak. “Alain’s aunt counselled us to see the property at nighttime. That experience was, again, very positive and we made the deal for the property in 2009.”
Their plan was to grow vegetables by certified organic standards and initially market their produce through CSA subscriptions.
“We have been committed to farming organic from our early planning stage,” said Rehak. “I don’t want to eat food I sprayed poison on and I don’t want my customers to eat food that was sprayed on either.”
In their first production year, 2010, the couple established their CSA customer base with several acquaintances and then their customer list grew, essentially by word of mouth.
Their production plan was ready for the 2010 season, however it was sidelined after they read a book titled The Market Gardener by Quebec-based farmer and author Jean-Martin Fortier.
They thought Fortier’s practical and effective system for laying out garden plots would fit their production and crop rotation plans. Essentially, it provided a template to organize their farming operation.
“We adopted Fortier’s concept of 30-inch beds and 100-foot-long rows,” said Rousselle. “We also incorporated a BCS walk-behind tractor designed to fit 30-inch beds. The BCS is the only non-human power used in the operation and its implement line includes a power harrow, bed former, flail mower, and a mulch laying tool.”
WEEKLY BASKETS
Alva Farm supplies around 50 different vegetables, fruits, and herbs to customers during the growing season. Starting in June, customers get one basket of produce per week for 18 weeks. The farm offers half-share ($340), full share ($565), and family share ($735) subscription options.
For an extra fee, they also offer flexible versions of each option (called a “flex share”) that allow customers to select vegetables outside of the standard options. The flex share fees are $60 for a half-share, $75 for a full share, and $90 for a family share.
Drop-off locations include Victoria Park in Moncton on Wednesdays and the farmers’ markets in Dieppe and Bouctouche on Saturdays. Customers in select areas can get home delivery for the whole season for an additional fee of $65.
Alva Farm has about two acres of land in production, including nearly a half-acre in greenhouses that help extend the growing season. A portion of one greenhouse is heated and used as a nursery to establish transplants.
Rehak and Rousselle make extensive use of plastic mulch and row covers to protect plants from frost and insects. They also use geotextile mats to control weeds. “The geotextile is a good tool to eradicate weeds and get the soil ready to prepare for planting,” said Rousselle.
Drip irrigation is used in all the greenhouses and growing beds.
Fertility is provided by a combination of crab meal, basalt mineral dust, and worm castings, all produced by businesses in eastern New Brunswick.
Alva Farm has employed Alec Maillet-Haydock for the past four years, and his talents are praised and deeply appreciated. Rousselle pointed out that many people look at working on an organic farm as an ideal career, but when the reality of hard work sets in, it often shortens their farm work ambitions.
The family’s immediate neighbours, especially the older generations, are very encouraging, fondly remembering when their whole community was farm-based.
JOINING NFU-NB
Alva Farm joined the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick (NFU-NB) in 2011. Shortly after, Rehak was appointed as women’s rep and later international rep. For the past two years, she’s served as the NFU-NB’s president.
“Initially, we were attracted to NFU because they seemed to focus their efforts more toward small family farms and local marketing,” said Rehak. “They make efforts to bring attention to challenges of small farmers, environment, and social justice.”
The NFU-NB’s attention-generating efforts have included bringing chickens to the provincial legislature, planting an apple tree at the legislature, and supporting a GMO protest.
Some current files garnering the NFU-NB’s energies include glyphosate, temporary foreign workers, local marketing, and food sovereignty. The NFU-NB supported the local food movement and farmers’ markets by creating a farmers’ market road map of the province.
Rehak offered high praises for NFU-NB executive director Suzanne Fournier.
“It is very important for our organization to have a talented and committed individual managing the office and organizing meetings and events,” she said. “Suzanne is always available and keeps the executive and directors up to speed on issues and events, and coordinates an endless series of tasks and communications. She can quickly produce recorded documents and bring me up to speed. We are all volunteers, and we all operate our own farms, so it’s important to have the support she provides.”
Future plans for Alva Farm include increasing revenue from the current production base, creating more season-extension capacity, building a wash station and cold storage, and adding a commercial kitchen in the long term.
Rehak added that while the dream to have a farm has been achieved, plans to populate it with all kinds of animals have so far been limited to a flock of 18 laying hens. Long-range plans include more animals.
“We are very happy to be farmers and we enjoy seeing our children grow up with the farming experiences,” she said.
