The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 36A different sort
Singer Bob Burchill
farms organically
"Sun beating down on my backside
Six weeks 1 ain't seen no rain
I'm wandering 'round the garden with a
hose in my hand
Dust floating in my brain.
It looks like another busy season
It looks like we're gonna feel the heat
We're growing potatoes and tomatoes
And strawberries sweet sweet sweet."
Such is an introduction to Bob Burchill, a
singer, guitarist, actor, writer and farmer.
It sounds best when he sings it, strumming
an his guitar and tapping a sandalled foot,
at his home near Dublin.
Bob and his father, Jack, who is setting
his son up in business, have a 100 -acre
faun, with a small herd of cattle, 42 acres
of grain, vegetables, and a garden.
Bob farms organically. His father, said
Bob, has been "more or less an organic
farmer all his life." Their farm has never
been touched with DDT or 2-4-D sprays.
A commitment to preservation, conserv-
ation and health seem to have served as the
foundation for his farming methods. His is
a "gentler approach to the soil," without
the 50 -odd chemicals the government is
researching for harmful effects.
If the results of "chemical farming"
prove disastrous in 25 or 30 years, Bob
said, "there still has to be some land
around that is still productive."
-He stands in the two acre garden. His
wife, Annie, who came to Canada from
Sweden in 1976, is picking peas. There are
also beets and sweet corn, a patch of
potatoes with an expected yield of two
tons, an experimental cabbage patch, and
an adolescent apple orchard.
"1 want to grow food for human
consumption," Bob said, "That's my main
issue... We should be growing food direct
for people, rather than direct for animals."
"When growing animal feeds, you must
keep costs low so that it is a viable feed to
give bock to the animals, but vegetables
are different.'! -
Because Shamrock Farm is a family
operation, he is not faced with a $150,000
BY USE GUNBY
mortgage, he said. Vegetable farming is
viable mostly for those who have their land
paid for.
It's labour-intensive, but he still gets a
good hourly rate for his work. And
overhead is low. He used a horse-drawn
scuffler, bought for $20, a hoe, and a lot of
hand work to plant the two acres.
"Basically, I'm using tools that nobody
wants," he said.
He could do the same with four or five
acres of vegetables, he said. But next year,
he hopes to purchase a new corn planter
and a hydraulic scuffler.
The staple crop on the farm is 42 acres of
grain. The soil has never been overworked,
he said, it's not just "land to hold the plant
upright."
The small beef herd has supplied
valuable fertilizer. Though phasing out the
livestock, Bob said he plans to keep some
cattle.
GARDENER'S VIEWPOINT
"I'm not much of a livestock lover," he
said, "I guess 1 have a gardener's
viewpoint on farming."
He said he prefers to harvest crops in the
summer, and reserve the winter for playing
music. He seems to have successfully
combined the best of both his worlds -
organic farming and singing.
"I'm not giving up one for the other," he
said.
Born on Shamrock Farm south and east
of Dublin, which has been in the family
since 1852, Bob grew up with both the rural
life and music.
He studied piano until he was 15. Then
lessons were curtailed for the sake of
homework and farm chores. But again, at
age 19, he was playing in local bands - The
Impalas and The Rembrandts. Then his
musical career was interrupted.
Bob left the farm. Three years and 43
towns later, after travelling as a relief
telegrapher/agent for the Canadian
National Railways, he came home again.
His music drew him to the Black Swan
coffeehouse in Stratford, a meeting place
for artists. There Bob played with time off
,}b TNERURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1979
to travel - hitch -hiking across Canada,
living in Scotland, in Morocco, Ireland,
France and Spain.
He studied guitar for four years, and one
year at the Conservatory of Music in
classical guitar. He teaches as well.
BLACK SWAN CROWD
From the Black Swan crowd the Perth
County Conspiracy was born in 1969. "The
right combination of people came to-
gether," said Bob. The Conspiracy,
usually numbering a dozen members,
became a musical group which toured coast
to coast doing university concerts, and
playing at concert halls and benefits. The
group produced two albums.
The Perth County Conspiracy did not live
in a full-fledged commune. "A couple of
people in the group owned land," Bob
explained, and there were co-operative
houses. But the main centre was the
coffeehouse in Stratford - also co-
operatively run.
In 1975, Bob produced his first solo
album, Cabin Fever. Later that year, he
formed the band Perth County Express.
After a promotional tour of Sweden, he
again played through Canada, building up
a long list of performances in different
places.
In 1977, his second album, Will I Ever
Get To Heaven, was produced under his
own label, Will 0' Wind.
And two years ago he moved back to the
farm, "to see if I could/make a living at it
on my own terms."
He estimates the worth of his projects by
calculating the number of weeks' wages
they provide. His garden gives hrnseveral
weeks of earnings, his music several more,
and his record sales and air play on CBC
complete income.
According to statistics, he said, smiling,
I've been in the poverty bracket all my life.
"But to make a good living, it's not how
much you earn, it's how low your overhead
is," he said.
Bob's and Annie's house was once a