Whitty Family Farm

Frank and Cathy Whittys’ 100 acre farm sits high up on a hill overlooking the community of Farmington, just outside of the Picturesque bay-side town of St.Peters, in eastern Prince Edward Island. The multi-generation family run farm initially focused on dairy production, and Frank grew up milking cows and helping his parents to make cream. Today the family rents some of the 32 acres that is cleared to a potato farmer, and the remainder has been turned into pastureland. The couple have a small, beautifully tended vegetable garden which supplies themselves and Frank’s mother with fresh vegetables during the summer months. In the fall they harvest their own firewood out of the 70 acres of forest on their property.

Unable to compete with large-scale operations, Frank has watched many of his neighbours give up farming their land, and instead rent their fields to potato farmers. The Whittys have become increasingly concerned over the direction that island farming is headed in. Although both Frank and Cathy have off farm employment—Frank as a mussel farmer, and Cathy as a resident care worker at a local healthcare facility—they have been reflecting on ways that they could diversify their farm to make it more sustainable. In looking for new crops to grow on his family’s land, Frank began realizing that specialty crops grown organically would help build up the health of the soil and simultaneously generate a profit, even grown on a small scale. He hopes to receive his organic certification within the next year.

Frank and Cathy decided to experiment by planting 1.5 acres of blackcurrants on the plot of land adjacent to their home. Bordered by a thick stand of trees, the plot is ideal for cultivating organically because it is well sheltered from prevailing winds. Recognizing the importance of the overall health of the system to growing a successful crop, Frank planted rye on the field the year prior to establishing his blackcurrant plants in order to enrich the soil and reduce erosion; and after planting the currants, he sowed the rows in between with thick green carpets of white clover to fix nitrogen. Frank integrated locally available animal manure and fish fertilizer this year, and is thinking about using mussel mud and shells next year.

Frank and Cathy love farming. They enjoy being outside, and find nurturing the plants as they grow and yield fruit extremely fulfilling. Although growing organically is a new learning experience for the couple, they feel it is time to be using the land in a more environmentally friendly manner, and enjoy knowing that the fruit they harvest will be healthy and tasty for themselves and their customers. If everything goes well, they plan on expanding their blackcurrant production, and possibly planting some organic blueberries in the near future. Ultimately, their goal is to build a new model for the family farm that is economically profitable and can sustain farming as a traditional livelihood on Prince Edward Island. As Frank says, “Farming is a way of life on the island. It gets in the blood, and it’s hard to get out!”