From cows to craft beers, Alberta Open Farm Days offers the public a look inside the agriculture industry. NEWS PHOTO KENDALL KING, MAY 09, 2022.
kking@medicinehatnews.com
An array of Medicine Hat and area agricultural operations are opening their doors this weekend for the 10th annual Alberta Open Farm Days.
Taking place this Saturday and Sunday, Open Farm Days is a province-wide open house event which increases awareness of agricultural innovations, rural sustainability and food production. The event also shines a light on Alberta’s producers, by facilitating direct discussion between producers and the public.
Lars Hirch, master distiller at Pivot Spirits Craft Distillery in Rolling Hills, is excited to once again take part in the event.
The Open Farm Days concept fits with our philosophy a lot,” Hirch told the News. “We’re doing a lot of sustainable farming and distilling practices and, for us, it’s important to connect with our consumers to show them where our food and spirits come from.”
Sean Roche, operator and manager with Leisure Way Mini Farms, believes in-person farm experiences help generate better understanding of the role agriculture and producers play.
“This is our first time (participating) and we feel very excited and honoured to be a part of this event,” said Roche. “We think it’s going to be a great opportunity for more people from our community to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to grow food and embrace the animals which help sustain us.
“Over the years, we’ve seen people come out to tour our little farm and it’s the person’s first experience of meeting farm animals face-to-face… So I think we’re just really hopeful to create a space where people can have a great first, second or third encounter with farm life, and also just learn and have fun because we try to be interactive and informative out here.”
Another newcomer to the event, Irvine School’s Agricultural Discovery Centre, is also mixing education and fun with various open house presentations and activities.
“We’re really catering to the interests of children, so we’ll have lots of fun activities for kids,” ADC co-ordinator, Nichole Neubauer, said. “They’ll get to learn a little bit about different types of livestock and crops, and possibly even harvest a little bit of produce. And then we’ll have some fun game-type activities set up in the pavilion. We’ve also got a representative from Alberta Beef Producers, so we’ll have some information about (beef production)… We’re also having a farmers market, so we’ll have some local produce for sale.
“And then, we are having a fun movie night in the farm yard. We are showing Charlotte’s Web, which is a classic children’s movie. We’ll have popcorn, snacks and treats for the kids.”
Neubauer will be in attendance throughout the weekend, as well as several of the ADC’s student operators, to provide information about the centre and agriculture in general.
“We just hope lots of people come down, visit us and see more about our fun, student led farm,” Neubauer said.
Listed below are the operations in and around Medicine Hat participating in Alberta Open Farm Days. For more information, and activities across the rest of the province, check out albertaopenfarmdays.ca.
Medicine Hat:
Medicine Hat Brewing Company, open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday
Hell’s Basement Brewery, open 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday
Leisure Way Mini Farm, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Irvine:
Agricultural Discovery Centre, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, the movie begins at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday
Rolling Hills:
Pivot Spirits Craft Distillery, open from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday
D Bar V Farms, 90-minute tours begin at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Taber:
Shipwheel Cattle Feeders Ltd, 45-minute tours held hourly from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
MD of Pincher Creek:
Windy Coulee Canadian Horses, 90-minute grassland guided walking tours begin at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, hoof-care demonstrations held hourly from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
