Jim, Chris and our friend the Clipper grain cleaner were featured in this article, Building up the ‘Grain Chain’, which ran recently in the Tyee. Part farmer profile, part discussion of the role of equipment and infrastructure in local grain production, Colleen Kimmett’s article is part of a Tyee series called “Growing the Local Bounty: Reports from Farmlands in Flux, Ontario and BC” and we’re happy to be mentioned. Other issues covered so far in the series include the face of modern agricultural education, BC’s egg industry and the importance of value added processing to some small farms.

The article begins:

At 90 years old, Clipper is still as active as ever. She’s had a few parts replaced, tuned and added, but she is still the same machine she was nearly a century ago. After sitting idle for several decades, she was on her way to the Chilliwack dump last year when Jim Grieshaber-Otto rescued and refurbished her to use at Cedar Isle, his 94-acre farm in Agassiz….(continued)

The 2010 shares have been delivered, but there’s still plenty going on at Cedar Isle Farm…

Oh, hey there.

Cows are out pasturing…

In the organic system used at Cedar Isle Farm, the grain contains an ’understory’ of clover, grass and other plants, which thrive after the grain is harvested in the late summer.

In late October — at the same time Urban Grain members were picking up their flour — the Angus beef cattle were taking advantage of the ‘extra pasture’ that grew after the hard red spring wheat was harvested.

No additional time, money or energy was expended to plant this greenery. It simply grew after harvest. Not only does it provide extra forage for the cows, it will also provide the field protection against erosion in the face of fierce winds that frequently buffet the eastern Fraser Valley in the winter.

Equipment needs preventative maintenance… adjustments are made before putting away the harvesting equipment for the winter.

Simon and Pumpkin take a break from helping to clean and service the combine before winter storage.

Local mechanics Pete den Boer and Anton Kersten (from Farm Diesel Service in Chilliwack) re-worked the combine's electrical system and made other improvements.

Winter cereals fields are transitioned back to grass and clover…

Combining the (late) fall rye crop.

In mid-September, before the other grains have been harvested (and before cleaning, milling and distribution), the fall rye field is plowed. This is the initial step in preparing the field for seeding grass-clover seed — the next step in its rotation. Next year, this field will produce grass-clover silage and hay; it’ll be several years before it is returned to cereal production.

And one month later, mid October, the newly-sown grass and clover seeds have sprouted and the plants have started to put on some decent growth, which will allow them to survive the winter and be ready for a burst of growth next spring…

To all of our members: thank you for your support - each and every one of you!

We are pleased to announce that the second and final weekend of Urban Grains distribution is now complete. Hopefully, many of you have already dived right in to baking and cooking with your bounty! Thank you for joining us this year, thank you for following along during the season, and thank you for putting in your time to pick up shares.

And while we’re at it, a big thanks to NOWBC for hosting us. And, of course, we really cannot give enough thanks to our ‘grower family’, Jim and Diane and their children, for joining us on Saturday afternoon and bringing us full circle on the grain experience - from seeding, to growing, to milling and, finally, to distribution.

Over the coming weeks we will be updating the blog with stories, recipes and “From the Farm” photos and updates - so stay tuned.

**For those of you we missed seeing this weekend, please check your email for information regarding your share and pick-up opportunities.

Thanks again!

Your Urban Grains Team

This is the exciting part, folks! Over the past weekend more than half of our 2010 shares were picked up by members at our east Vancouver distribution spot. We hope that some of you have already enjoyed a batch of rolls or pumpkin pie made with this year’s Urban Grains bounty.

The fun continues this coming weekend, which will be the final chance for members to pick up shares.

Final distribution times: Friday Oct. 15, 4-8pm and Saturday Oct. 16, 10-4pm. (Check our previous email announcement for location details.)

As always, contact us if needed at urbangrains@ffcf.bc.ca

Chris knows a thing or two about grain...

PEDDLING THE WAY TO LOCAL GRAIN WITH THE FLOUR PEDDLER

Sat Oct 16, 3pm at the Roundhouse Cultural Centre, Room C, $10

This workshop will explore emerging and existing grain chains in Southwestern B.C., in addition to looking at some of the history of grain growing in the province. Opportunities to purchase freshly milled local grain available. This presentation is part of Farm Folk / City Folk’s Sustenance: Feasting on Art & Culture Festival (Oct 8-16)

Register at www.roundhouse.ca

Slowly but surely, the grain is coming. Rainy weather in August and September and an overall slower growing season meant that fields were harvested a good deal later than in 2009. Luckily, thanks to Jim, Diane and the kids at Cedar Isle, most of the hard work is now done, and we anticipate delivering your grain for milling in about a week’s time. Anita’s Organics will again be our milling partner this year, and we are looking forward to working with them.

More about this year’s share

Your 20kg share will arrive as four 5kg bags this year, rather than last year’s larger bags. We hope that this smaller format will make transportation, storage, sharing and trading easier for everyone. As we mentioned before, the harvest is still making its way in out of the fields - this means that the final share breakdown is yet to be determined. We’ll let you know as soon as we do!

Distribution

Our goal is to host this year’s distribution over the Thanksgiving weekend (October 9, 10, 11). If all goes as planned, you could be using Urban Grains flour to bake your Thanksgiving pies. Distribution options have been narrowed down to two sites in east Vancouver; we will alert you as soon as a decision is reached and location and times are confirmed. Please stay tuned, and as always feel free to contact us at urbangrains@ffcf.bc.ca.

Thanks!

In our second year of operation, we at Urban Grains are more thankful than ever for your continued support. By being a part of our CSA, you are making a significant difference in closing the gap between grower and consumer, providing the necessary support and capital for the growing season, and participating in a delicious enterprise. We are inspired by your enthusiasm!

We’ll be back soon with more details. In the meantime, prepare your homes for the arrival of Urban Grains!

Under cloudy skies, but with bright spirits all around, the August 8^th Cedar Isle Farm Urban Grain shareholder visit and tour was a tremendous success. It was a pleasure to welcome many of the CSA members to the farm and introduce you to Jim, Diane, Hannah and Simon - our grain growers - and to the grain itself!

A big thank you to Jim and the family for their warm hospitality and for making the day such a joy. We enjoyed the demonstration of the restored grain cleaner and learning about its fascinating history. The Tour of the Grains was tremendously informative from our hay-bale perch. We were also inspired to learn about the Cedar Isle Farm philosophy for balancing and respecting the local ecology, alongside their grain growing work. Research biologist Todd Kabaluk’s described his project on the biological control of wireworm (see: http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1180620561099 or http://www.farmwest.com/index.cfm?method=pages.showPage&pageid=605) and frog biologist Monica Pearson (http://www.fvwc.ca/index.php/frog-blog-main and http://www.balance-ecological.com/) highlighted efforts to create and restore habitat for the endangered Oregon Spotted Frog.

Back at the farm, Heather Pritchard and Christopher Hergesheimer shared their passion for our Urban Grains program, describing how it fits within the FarmFolk/CityFolk network and the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) community.

Although the weather has presented some challenges so far; the recent hot, dry conditions are just what the grain needs leading up to harvest. Let’s keep our figures crossed for continued good weather.

Thanks to everyone who came out on Sunday! Stay tuned for upcoming posts regarding our harvesting and distribution plans!

In the meantime, here are a few photos from the day.

2009 CSA members at last year’s farm visit

A reminder to all our 2010 members - this Sunday, August 8th, is our visit to Cedar Isle Farm. So far we have over 75 members signed up, and we’d love to see more of you there!

Meet at the farm at 11:30am with a picnic lunch, blanket, and sturdy shoes. Remember water if it’s hot out! We’ll be touring the fields and checking in on our grain in its late summer state. Kids and pets are welcome! This year we’ll also be joined by John MacKenzie from Anita’s Mill, a frog habitat expert from the nearby slough, and a wireworm researcher, so you can depend on there being plenty of interesting people to chat with.

All members should have received an email containing driving directions. Remember to use our carpooling post to coordinate rides and reduce the number of cars we put onto the road.

Please RSVP to urbangrains@ffcf.bc.ca if you will be joining us!

Any questions can also be directed to urbangrains@ffcf.bc.ca