Runnel's Family Farm

Andres Runnels wants to make a difference. Born and raised in Montreal, he developed an interest in environmental issues at a young age, and started educating himself about ways that he could contribute to improving the health of his natural surroundings. One way was by learning where the food that his family ate came from, and trying to make sure that their power as consumers was supporting farms that were pursuing environmentally sustainable practices. In order to learn more, Andres set out to work on an organic farm in Guelph, Ontario. His experiences working on the land led him to enrol in Agricultural College in Nova Scotia in 2002, where he took part in an OACC research project on potato production. In 2003, Andres volunteered to spend the summer working for a local organic farmer on Prince Edward Island, and enjoyed island farming so much that he decided he wanted to stay.

In 2004, David Runnels, Andres’ father, purchased a 300-acre dairy farm that straddles the farming communities of Shamrock and Rose Valley, centrally located in Prince Edward Island’s Queens County. The farm had been run as a dairy operation for forty years, but for the ten years prior to the Runnels purchasing it, the land had been rented out to potato farmers who agreed to farm it using methods that did not exhaust the soil.

Today the farm consists of an old, rustic looking farmhouse and dairy barns that are nestled into gently rolling lush green hills. Only half of the farm is cleared. The remaining 150 acres is wooded, three perennial streams converging underneath the cool green canopy of interlocking maple, poplar, white spruce, hemlock and white oaks limbs. The tree cover and ready availability of water attract a wide diversity of wildlife to the farm including many types of birds, foxes, coyotes, and raccoons. Wood is harvested sustainably from the woodlot for firewood and lumber.

When Andres first started farming the land, he knew that he wanted to be certified organic. For him, organic certification tells his customers that he is committed to using farming methods that maintain the health and wellbeing of people and the local environment. He hopes that his farming methods exemplify a model that can be sustainable on the island over an indefinite period of time.

Andres started transitioning his land to organic production in 2004, and received his certification in 2007. He grows three acres of mixed vegetables, and three acres of blackcurrants. The remainder of his land is planted in hay. Committed to improving the health of the soil, Andres has a crop rotation plan that alternates vegetable crops with green manures such as oats, peas, buckwheat and oil radish. He also incorporates aged manure and homemade vermi-compost into his soil. Thus far, Andres has been selling most of his vegetables to local restaurants, but he would like to sell at local farmers’ markets and possibly start a Community Supported Agriculture program in the near future. He intends to sell most of his currants to a local processor to be made into tasty island preserves for both regional and international markets. He plans on continuing to expand his vegetable and berry acreage over the next few years.

Andres enjoys being engaged in a profession that enables him to work outside and be physically active. Being able to run his hands through the soil, to smell the rain, to watch the seasons bring about gradual but noticeable changes in the plants that he is nurturing strengthens his relationship with his surroundings. As Andres says,

I enjoy seeing things that I would not have the opportunity to experience in other jobs; how things affect each other; the miracle of a plant growing, establishing itself, and producing fruit. It is amazing to see and live these things, and learn to be an integral part of this process.

Andres also enjoys the challenge of trying to grow without synthetic inputs. Growing organically means recognizing all of the variables that are involved, and learning to work with the variables over which he has no real control. He says: “I like the challenge of seeing how I can work with the farm ecosystem rather than against it. It is a never-ending learning process.”

Andres’ goal is to continue building the capacity of his farm in order to make it into a fully sustainable family farm. He believes that farming is a way of life on Prince Edward Island that is worth preserving, and hopes that his customers will recognize that by purchasing products grown on his farm, they are contributing to the ability of young farmers like himself to continue farming the land in an ecologically and culturally sensitive manner that respects the natural beauty and integrity of the Island’s environment.