The Rural Voice, 2003-05, Page 12Robert Mercer
Intensive farming on 12.5 acres grosses $800,000
Robert
Mercer was
editor of the
Broadwater
Market Letter
and
commentator
for 25 years.
When you gross $800,000 (U.S.)
on 12.5 acres you know there has to
be a good story behind it. And this
was not an illegal crop! Just intensive
management rather than resource
intensive.
Speaking to the Annual meeting
of the Island Farmers Alliance in
Duncan, BC, in March, Michael
Ableman said that his acreage in
southern California was the last farm
in the valley before it all became part
of the urban jungle.
By the end of the millennium his
12.5 acres was surrounded by
highways, condos, supermarkets and
swimming pools. Among other
intensive management products he
had a small poultry operation, free
range in the real meaning of the
expression. It became unpopular in
that part of "town" as his cocks woke
up the neighbours.
They took the case to the city
council for relief. Michael did not
give in easily: in fact not at all. The
whole case became a headline catcher
to the local media, and the council
backed off.
The farm is still there but run as a
demonstration and educational plot
for small acreage in urban areas.
Michael now lives on Salt Spring
Island off the coast of British
Columbia where he is farming again.
What he will do there is unknown as
he says that his motto is "I do what
people say I can't".
Conditions are different in Canada
where the soil is sparse compared to
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8 THE RURAL VOICE
the 30 feet of prime topsoil he had in
California where the climate was
typical Mediterranean.
There was no space left unused on
the California small holding. It was
inter -cropped, near full year
production with shade tolerant
vegetables under the citrus trees, and
it was all intensive labour. He
employed 27 people (housing, wages
and benefits). He ran a year-round
farm market, and at the same time
managed to conduct tours of about
5,000 people per year.
He said that he used "every inch,
every cull and concentrated on every
detail". The farm was organic and
composting was very much an
integral part of the crop cycle — also
much to the dislike of the bordering
neighbours.
From the perspective of running a
farm market, Michael said that he
spent a lot of time on presentation to
make the produce look like a living
sculpture with a sense of abundance.
This means that you need diversity of
crops.
He promoted the idea of sampling
to promote sales. His crop and
varieties were chosen for flavour not
ease of harvest. He said that even on
Salt Spring he may give away $120
of produce in a weekend just to "kick
the socks off them". That refers to his
customers, because the taste of his
strawberries out performs anything
you get in the supermarket.
He is a great proponent of talking
to customers, letting them get to
know you, your products and your
method of production. If you are
charging more than the local markets,
then there had better be a reason for
it.
He says you have an obligation to
educate people about the value of
farm -direct produce, the location, the
method of transportation, how you
grow it, the purity of the product and
above all the taste.
Farming is an honourable
profession that has had a bad rap,
according to Michael, and he is
setting about doing his bit to help
reverse that knowledge gap.0