The Hands That Feed Us

What levers do we have to take commerce out of the commodity market? To live outside the logic that says the lowest price is the best price? At Farm 140, I found a room full of people figuring out how to do just that.

The Community Foundation of the South Okanagan has bought the farm — literally. Has farming become a charity case? According to Community Foundation leader Kevin Ronaghan, buying a farm is the best investment they can make in building a community.

Farming is a tough, tough business. The saying goes, get big or get out, and big stress comes with big business. But what if that isn’t true? Maybe smaller farms are just what we need to stay connected to our food.

I’m at to Klippers Organics for the season opening of their on-farm restaurant, Row Fourteen. A couple things have changed there since I filmed there in 2020, and award-winning head chef Derek Grey joins us to talk about why he’s now an electrician.

This episode features Holger Schwichtenberg, of The Old Agassiz Place in Agassiz, B.C. We chat about the issue of succession and how the farm gets passed along to the next generation; the emotions and finances involved in making the big decisions.

This first episode features Seann Dory, of Salt & Harrow farm in Tsawwassen, B.C. We talk about a previous project that he may be better known for, Urban Digs, and how they secured land by "offering tax-breaks to parking lot owners". Find out more about the tour at https://thehandsthatfeedus.ca/