Oct 29, 2019
This week on the podcast I interview Alex Mackay-Smith of
Juniper Farm in Wakefield, Quebec. He and his wife Juniper Turgeon
have been farming organically and biodynamically for over ten years
and serve their community by growing vegetables, fruit, meat, and
eggs. They sell through multiple venues, have a fermented foods
line, and offer experiences and connection to the farm through
various events, dinners, festivals, workshops, and artistic
partnerships.
What you'll hear in this episode:
>> How cover crops are Alex's crystal ball for future
production
>> Alex's journey from to farming from working in film
>> How Alex organizes tasks on a daily, weekly and monthly
basis and how on morning meetings are vital to his team >>
Which tractors Alex and I geek out about
>> How they developed an online tool called Harvest Board to
simplify and automate their farm tasks
>> The priorities of chef vs retailers
>> The difference between a scarcity and abundance mindset
>> How peers are Alex's greatest mentors
Quotes from the episode:
"I don't know many someliers for carrots..."
"You're either going down the bitter or the joyful road" "The
hardest thing for myself as a farmer is learning to problem solve
under heavy stress" "Learning to see clearly and step away and look
at the big picture can be the greatest challenge in what can
sometimes feel like the chaos of farming"
About the Guests:
Alex and his wife Juniper own Juniper Farm, an Organic and
Biodynamic vegetable farm located in Wakefield, Quebec in Canada.
They also run a thriving sauerkraut operation on site. They came
from the city to the country and have now been tending the land for
fourteen years. They've had to learn from many mistakes made, but
now see mistakes as an opportunity to grow. This allows Juniper
Farm to be flexible and keep evolving their “farmiverse”.