The Citizen, 1997-03-19, Page 32PAGE A-12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1997.
Agriculture *97
Dairy goat popularity on the rise
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Row upon row
Fran McQuail walks through her two-acre garden plot,
checking the progress of the crop. The rows are up to 500
feet long to accommodate the use of a horse-drawn, one-
furrow plow.
Organic certification
adds to CSA success
"They are the Holsteins of the
dairy goats."
So proclaims David Miller of
RR2, Gorrie, as he talks of the Saa-
nen goats which are his livelihood.
This is the second time around
with dairy goats for Miller and his
wife, Eleanor.
After returning to this area after
a few years in Alberta, the couple
began to rebuild a dairy goat herd
such as they had given up in 1988.
At that time, there were 40 produc
ers in the provinces. That number
has now reached near 80.
"Finding decent goats is much
more difficult now, " says Miller.
"They are more popular and the
good ones, which can cost $400,
Continued on A-13
Friendly animals
Dairy goat owners Eleanor and David Miller say the
animals are very friendly and much easier to handle than
cattle. It is easy for children to help out.
Continued from A-11
property is certified organic and
cultivated almost completely with
teams of Belgian horses.
The four mares are used to plow,
disc, haul an old drill for mixed
grain planting, pull the sickle bar
formowing the hay, a snow scraper
in the winter or a sleigh loaded
with logs for wood and lumber.
When not doing farm work, the
animals entertain visitors with win
ter sleigh rides.
The farm does have a tractor for
its PTO and front-end loader, she
smiles. "Horses can't do every
thing."
The organic quality is carried
through all the products of
McQuail's farm. Sheep are used to
graze the orchards, keeping the
insect populations down and the
proper grazing allows air to move
more freely under the trees to ward
off fungi and other diseases caused
by dampness.
After losing several free-range
chickens to foxes and owls,
McQuail now uses a pen system
which allows the chickens to move
around an area of the field while
still protected from predators.
"Free-range poultry is healthier
and tastes better," attests McQuail.
The apple orchard also went
through a transformation in the
time it has been owned by the fami
ly. It came with an orchard of Mac
intosh trees, but they are very
difficult to grow organically, says
McQuail. "They are susceptible to
fungus scabs."
The farm now has disease resis
tant trees, mainly Northern Spy,
which do not need spraying, she
says.
McQuail's two daughters, Rachel
and Katrina, also take an active
interest in the business, picking
which jobs suit them best. "It's usu
ally the animals," McQuail adds.
As for the running of such a busi
ness, McQuail says 20 years of gar
dening experience has allowed her
to develop a management sense. "I
can delay a planting because of
poor conditions, and know when it
will still work out."
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