Visitors welcome as Alberta Open Farm Days proceeds with pandemic precautions

Denise O'Reilly carefully places some fat, ripe strawberries from her U-Pick into a picnic basket.

O'Reilly is a fifth-generation Alberta farmer who has been workinga quarter section in Lac Ste. Anne County for years. The berries are the fruits of her labour at Hill and Dale Farm, land that has been passed down through the women in her family since 1914.

The berries are tucked into picnic boxes alongside locallysourced meat, cheese and sweets, providing sustenance to folks enjoying Alberta Open Farm Days this weekend.

Now in its eighth year, the annual event is billed as a farm experience open house. It's a chance for the public to get an insider's view of life on the farm as they meet people behind the ranches, distilleries andorchardsacross the province.

The picnic boxes are part of the sold-out Rural Roots Farmer Showcase at the George Pegg Botanic Garden, about 100 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. They're justone example of howproducers are adapting to show off their work despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Another important change as a result of COVID-19 is that people must book their farm visits ahead of time.

"We're having people head online to our website and pre-register," said Nathan Anderson, events co-ordinator with the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies."There are other safety protocols in place as well."

This year, about 70 producers are taking part, down from the 100 or so that usually sign on to participate.

But Anderson said the cross-section of participants still involved tell a strong story about the diversity of agricultural operations across the province.

It's been an unusual, often difficult, season for Alberta producers.

'It's a great opportunity to showcase what you do on your farm'

4 years ago

Duration 2:38

Meet some of the people in Lac Ste. Anne County taking part in this year's Alberta Open Farm Days.

For O'Reilly, the pandemic has increased the demands on her small operation.She also sellsheirloom seeds from her farm andsaw amassive jump in her sales this spring.

"There was about a 400 per cent increase in what we do online and lots of interest from first-time gardeners and people who never put a seed in the ground," O'Reilly said.

With demand increasing, O'Reilly decided to set upa U-Pick at her farm for veggies and fruit. It's a safe option for people who are keen to get out of the city and gettheir hands dirty.

"We really can accommodate people with the spacing and booking appointments for people and offsetting that and it's really been good."

Growing is often about adapting, saidLorraine Taylor, the horticulturist for Lac Ste. Anne County. And she's seen that during COVID-19.

"All the conversation about gardens and what people are growing and seed stores running out of seed because people were so excited," she said. "I'm really hoping that sticks."

Taylor oversees the George Pegg Botanic Garden,agreen space named after a farmer and naturalist who identifiedmore than 100 species of flora native to Alberta during his life on the land from 1913 until his death in 1988.

You can see more from the George Pegg Botanic Garden this week on Our Edmonton on Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Monday on CBC TV and the CBC GEM.

Last year, the garden hosted along table dinner for Alberta Open Farm Days but this year Taylor has helped organized and distribute the picnic boxes instead.

"We're keeping it pretty low-key," she said. "The garden is open throughout the summer and we're just maintaining that kind of status."

The garden is a favourite place of Dawn Boileau, owner of the Sunrise Gardens organic farm near Onoway, Alta., about 70 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

"It's a beautiful, diverse garden. It's well kept and the amount of history here is really precious to me as a local farmer," said Boileau.

Boileausells fruit, veggies and microgreens at farmers markets in Onoway and Edmonton. She saidthe last six months haven't been easy.

"As small growers, we're continually trying to feed our family, feed our community and it can be challenging when there isn't the appreciation for local food."

Boileau estimated thatsales are down by about 40 per cent for her market business, withfewer people shopping.

ButBoileau said she also believes that interest in what she does is way up.

"On a broader scale, people are becoming focused on what can we grow locally, what they can grow themselves and how to supplement that with the growers that are found close to home."

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