Springwillow Farm

Springwillow Farm overlooks a patchwork of gently sloping fields embroidered with rows of brightly coloured crops and rusty red trails of Prince Edward Island’s iron-rich soils. Student volunteers from Japan diligently weed a row of dandelion plants. A cool breeze blows steadily; bees fumble the bright yellow heads of flowers; birds in flight smudge the sky—now a flock of starlings; now a sparrow darting cautiously from its nest; now the powerful sweep of eagles circling gracefully overhead. Cows rip grass rhythmically from the earth as they move freely across green pastureland, their muscular bodies glossy under the warm sunlight.

Springwillow Farm is a 250-acre organic farm centrally located on Route 2, in the community of Springfield, on the dividing line between Queens and Prince Counties. The land was first settled in 1828. Originally two farms, the marriage of Joyce Haslam, and Gerrit Loo, (who had come over from Holland to farm in 1951), turned the neighbouring farms into a single property. Joyce and Gerrit had seven children that they raised on the farm. Today the farm is owned by Joyce Loo, who lives in the family farmhouse with her youngest son Ricky, who helps out on the farm. Another of Joyce’s sons, Raymond Loo, manages the farm.

The Loos grow a wide variety of cole crops; small fruits (including blackcurrants, haskaps, raspberries, strawberries, and rhubarb); dandelions; rosehips; as well as beef cattle, various kinds of poultry and pigs. The farm also has a heritage apple and pear orchard on it. The vegetables and fruit are sold at local farmer’s markets, to Island restaurants, and directly off the farm from a roadside stand. Some small fruits are made into organic fruit preserves. The dandelion roots are sent to Japan, to be used in the production of dandelion coffee. The rosehips will be used in preserves, or processed for medicinal uses. Raymond’s father, Gerrit and his twin brother Evert Loo became well-known for their organic potato breeding business. Raymond continues to grow many varieties of potatoes, which he sells locally. One of these—Island Sunshine—is now available on the international market.

The environment is a priority for the Loos. The entire back edge of the farm—a total of seventy acres—is thickly forested with native trees. A freshwater creek gurgles through the woodlot. The Loos harvest wood from the woodlot to heat their homes. In early spring they tap the maple trees for maple syrup. Raymond is developing a wildlife corridor through the farm. He and his father created a pond; and local watershed rehabilitation groups have planted many kilometres of hedgerows, which provide habitat for local wildlife, and reduce soil erosion. Starting this year, a horse farmer from Belgium will be working with Raymond, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the farm. When cutting hay, Raymond leaves sensitive bird-nesting areas until last to ensure that the birds have fledged.

Public education is a closely related interest of Raymond’s, which he attributes to the example set for him by his grandfather. He says:

I used to spend a lot of time in the fields with my grandfather. If we saw a bird flying by, it was never just a bird. You had to say it was a red-winged black bird, or a boblink. And you couldn’t just pick up a weed. He would ask what kind of weed is it? He very much wanted us to understand that everything happens for a reason. He wanted us to know about the life cycles of the environment we lived in.

Raymond feels a responsibility to carry on this commitment to educating others about the island environment. Throughout the summer, the farm has a steady flow of WWOOFers (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) that volunteer in order to gain practical experience on an organic farm. School and Elderhostel tours visit the farm regularly. As Raymond says:

By helping people to make connections between the soil, insects, birds, trees, and the food that they eat—I hope that they go home and just look at things differently.

Raymond would like to see farming become a sustainable livelihood again for all farmers on the Island. He feels strongly that Prince Edward Island could one day be an organic island, and that doing so would preserve the health of islanders and the local ecosystem, as well as establishing the Island as a competitive producer of high quality products. Recognizing the unsound logic of producing without first identifying a market, Raymond joined forces with Kosaku Morita, a Japanese agricultural products importer, in 2004. Together they set out to develop a Value Chain initiative to market organically produced Island products in Japan at a fair price. The model, based upon the belief that establishing relationships of trust between farmers, buyers and consumers encourages long-term market sustainability, is being used by a group of farmers on Prince Edward Island, and a number of Japanese companies, all of whom value environmental stewardship, community ethics, and high quality products. Raymond hopes that the Value Chain framework will facilitate the nurturing of new markets in other parts of the world in the future.

For Raymond, farming is about relationships. About relationships to islanders who farmed in the past, and who will farm in the future. As Raymond says:

This farm has been in our family for six generations. I am a direct descendent of the people who cleared the land. So when I am walking across the farm – every time I put my foot down I’m stepping where one of my ancestors stepped. I feel a really strong connection to them and to whoever will farm this land in the future—we are responsible for leaving this earth as untouched as we can. My goal is to provide healthy, wholesome food while making as small an environmental footprint as possible.

Farming is also about connections to the wildlife that lives on and around the farm; to the fish that live in the island’s rivers; and to the soil. Raymond’s goal is to contribute to building an image of Prince Edward Island that reflects the values that Islanders hold dear: family, community, stories, tradition, culture, and a beautiful natural environment that his children, and their children can continue to enjoy long into the future.