The Rural Voice, 2001-10, Page 36GROWING VEGETABLES FOR THE
ONTARIO MARKET
Farming in Grand Bend's black -muck soil provides its own special
challenges
Story and photos by Sandra Orr
SCaples like potatoes and onions
are the vegetables grown by
Bridgeview Produce Limited at
its farm in the low-lying floodplain
near Grand Bend.
Bill Vandenberk and his wife
Joanne and his younger brother John
and his wife Yvonne and three
children work full time growing
about 100 acres of potatoes and 50
acres of onions. An additional 85
acres are used for other crops such as
beans, corn and wheat to make a total
of 220 acres owned and 15 acres
rented by the company near Klondike
Road.
A full-time farmer since 1983, Bill
Vandenberk says the traditional crops
are grown for crop rotation. He only
has equipment for potatoes and
onions and has the beans, corn and
wheat custom -planted and harvested.
There are no livestock on this
farm, something different for Bill's
wife Joanne who was raised on a
dairy farm.
Every year he buys new top-
quality seed from a wholesale
company from Michigan, U.S.A., or
Prince Edward Island. Ontario No. 1
potato seed comes bulk and the
32 THE RURAL VOICE
Bill and Joanne
Vandenberk (right
at a tractor) grow
potatoes and
onions as well as
regular field crops
Top. a harvester
.digs potatoes.
N Bottom. a
wagonload of
potatoes heads to
storage.