Farming '92, 1992-03-18, Page 8A8. FARMING ’92, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18,1992.
Farming '92
Hunter's berries a sideline to farming business
Early start
Jim and Donna Hunter prune the raspberry plants in the spring and again after they are
finished producing, for the same cane never has berries twice.
the bam, eating the berries without
washing them first.
The Hunters advertise locally,
selling both pick-your-own and
already picked. The prices run in
the neighbourhood of $2.50 a pint
for picked, $1.50 for pick-your-
own. They also market some of the
berries at local stores, such as the
EMA in Brussels.
Last year they found themselves
pretty well sold out, with customers
coming not only from the Brussels
and Blyth area, but from as far
away as Kitchener-Waterloo,
Godericl erdWroxeter also.
Jim a td I'/mna tend to spend
most of their time home on the
farm, and as Donna explains they
have found this an opportunity to
meet a lot of interesting people.
Most of their customers tend to be
a lot of young working couples
who haven't the time or space for
gardening, and quite a number of
senior citizens.
They would prefer that people
phone ahead to make sure there is
going to be enough available on
that particular day. The raspberries
normally ripen every second .day,
but due to the hot weather last year
they ripened every day. As Jim
explains, last year was a bumper
crop year with enough moisture
and plenty of sunshine.
This year the Hunters will also
have available spices and herbs;
such as sweet basil, dill, oregano,
rosemary, sage, savoury, thyme,
parsley; which Donna grows and
dries herself. Jim also has some
home-made horse radish available
for any of those interested in pur
chasing some.
FOR FAST RXSTJXT8
BY LARRY CARDIFF
Jim and Donna Hunter, following
their desire to work in a less rigid
environment and to spend more
time outside, moved to the Brussels
area six years ago to begin farming
as a full-time livelihood.
Jim was a school teacher, Donna
an accountant, in the city of
Brampton. They had already tried
their hand at part-time farming
outside Grand Valley for four or
five years prior to their move.
Tired of commuting back and forth
between Grand Valley and Bramp
ton, the Hunters came to the con
clusion that they needed either
more time at one or the other. As
Jim explains, "It was a choice of
either quilting farming or going
bigger".
They readily admit that the gen
eral economy influences their atti
tude towards their chosen vocation,
but quickly add that they are gener
ally happy and content with their
decision.
Their primary income comes
from 80 sows; their secondary
income from raspberries and sweet
com, both of which are marketed
mainly at home or al the EMA in
Brussels.
It is a working partnership, they
both agree, with each of them
dividing the Aime between the rasp
berries and the bam chores.
When asked how they got into
producing raspberries, they said
that they have always enjoyed gar
dening and had always grown
berries. When they first came to the
Brussels area they couldn't really
find any available. They took a
good look around at what was
available, with the intent of not
going into a business where there
was already an over supply. Jim
and Donna first began producing
raspberries as an experiment to see
if there was a market for them.
Raspberries, Jim explains, are
labour intensive. It takes three
years from planting to picking, but
the same amount of labour is need
ed as if they were producing. Once
established, you can expect up to
seven years of good production
from a patch.
The plants need pruning in the
spring, and again after they are fin
ished producing. The dead canes
must be cut out, for the same cane
never has berries twice. This takes
a lot of back-breaking work;
approximately eight hours to prune
one row.
Picking season lasts about three
weeks to a month, usually begin
ning around the first week of July.
One type of raspberry plant, Her
itage Everbearing, bears two crops
a year, summer and fall. These
canes must also be pruned after
their fall season, arriving in mid
September to October. The Her
itage Everbearing plants presently
make up 50 percent of the Hunter's
raspberry crop.
The different species have a dis
tinct difference in flavour. The fall
Heritage berries are sweeter and are
generally preferable for freezing;
the summer berries possess a
stronger typical raspberry taste.
At present, Jim and Donna
Hunter have only a half acre of
raspberries planted, but plan to
expand to three or four acres, per
haps even eventually expanding to
all different kinds of berries.
They use no chemicals or sprays
on their raspberries, preferring to
use a little manure for fertilizer.
This is done more for themselves
than for actual consumer market
ing. As Donna points out, they
enjoy the berries themselves and
quite often pick some on the way to
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