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Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association
Newsletter #304 April/May 2015 Volume 31, Number 3
Fresh Facts
Inside this issue:
Membership News 2 Local Food Week 4
Flexible Benches and Tables
5
Member ProfileKristin Ego Mac-Phail
6
Do you have ani-mals on your farm?
7
Podcasts 8
Presidents Message The generation gap will never disappear, it
just changes. When I was young it was mainly about our music and
how we dressed. Now we have the baby boomers, gen - Xers and the
millennials, all with different takes on the world. Our personal
world is so much more global than our parents ever was and
communication has changed. Some have embraced social media with a
passion and we have some very engaged and talented OFFMA members. I
thought I could pass on this social media stuff and have my kids do
it for me. They seem to be so connected with their phones. Times
are changing and my kids are millennials; a good and bad thing.
They are our customers of the future; problem is they are
disengaging from Facebook. We still need to connect with all ages.
I have now taken over the Facebook postings as they no longer want
to be bothered with it especially for themselves. Instagram is
being used more and more, another tool I need to learn. Jim has
finally learned how to get onto the internet and move the mouse
around. His motivation more auctions are now online. He is
learn-ing the definition of user friendly websites and is becoming
quite the critic. There is a fun side to Facebooking as I watch the
number of people reached with each posting climb (or not), trying
to figure out what grabs the publics attention. On the oth-er hand
I dont monitor my other pages of what my friends are posting as I
can get sucked into a time warp and emerge hours later. OMG some of
you may be thinking; after all those sessions and workshops on
social media how can they still be such a novice. I just enjoy
talking with others; I believe in face time over phone time, and
choosing life over likes. The allure of seeing the totals of number
of people reached is fun, numbers that I know I couldnt possibly
talk to per-sonally while trying to get our message out. I did get
some things right. Ive spent this winter working on updating our
website, mak-ing it mobile friendly. Just in time, for I have been
told Google is going to penalize sites that aren't mobile friendly
by April 21st. You can test your website at
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/ It will be
worth doing an update if needed as you really can improve your
standing in SEO (search engine optimization). OFFMA now has a
member only Facebook group where you can interact with other
members, asking questions, posting interesting information etc. It
is a closed group so the posting canonly be seen by other OFFMA
members. An invitation was sent out to all, have you searched for
Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association and requested to join the
group. It is another benefit of being in the OFFMA family. Its also
a great way to network with fellow members virtually. Im still
learning. Looking forward to planting weather. Leslie Forsythe
OFFMA President
Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh
experience.
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Page 2 Fresh Facts
Classifieds FOR SALE: Huglis Blueberry Ranch in Pem-broke has
its own line of wholesale gourmet blueberry products that in-clude
bbq sauce, jam, syrup, hot pepper jelly, pure juice, dressings and
salsa. For inquiries, contact Judy at [email protected] *This
product can also be found in the Members Marketplace on the OFFMA
website. FOR SALE: Delhaven Orchards Ltd., Blenheim, ON Frozen,
pitted sour cherries available for wholesale and retail Call
519-676-4475 or e-mail [email protected] WANTED: Bulk Frozen
Berries Looking for a good supply of frozen Ontario raspberries,
blueberries and blackberries. Contact Heather Fra-ser,
[email protected], 905-783-7383 WANTED: Cardboard Bins
Looking to purchase used/new card-board bins. Call Sharon at
519-647-2415 or cell 905-379-6769, [email protected]
WANTED: On-Farm Marketers who like to write. FreshFacts is always
looking for OFFMA members who want to share their experiences with
other on-farm marketers. Contact the of-fice if you have a story to
share, want to review a marketing book, or just want to vent about
one of your challenges. This newsletter may be the forum for you.
Classifieds are free for members. Send your information to the
OFFMA office and it will be included in the next news-letter.
New Memberswelcome to the OFFMA Family. You are in great
company. Take advantage of all the knowledge of this groupcome out
and network. You wont regret it! Melanie Holmes MeadowSweet Farm,
Gormley, ON 416-574-6234 www.meadowsweetfarm.ca MeadowSweet Farm is
a certified organic 65 acre farm that grows babyleaf salad greens,
heirloom veggies (tomatoes, beans, beets, kale, zucchini, cucumbers
and more), grass fed beef, heritage breed pork, chicken eggs, hops
& honey. Their products are available at their farm stand and
at several arti-san grocers. They also operate a CSA program.
George & Eva Joao The Farm-acy, Millgrove, ON 905-689-5466
www.thefarm-acy.com Their fruits and vegetables are farm grown,
fresh tasting and chemical free. In their market stand, you will
find asparagus, strawberries, peas, corn, garlic, tomatoes, onions,
peppers, potatoes, raspberries, lettuce and pumpkins, along with
flowers, jams and more. Associate Member Origin Imports David
Kitchen, Oakville, ON 905-337-2442 www.originimports.com Origin
Imports sources unique, one of a kind prod-ucts from smaller
artisan producers across Canada, United States and around the
world. They have grown to become one of the most dynamic and
inno-vative specialty food suppliers in the Ontario market. They
focus on healthier food options in snack food, grocery, and food
service categories.
The OFFMA Office will be closed from April 20 to May 5. Cathy
and Gary will be scout-
ing for the November Bus Tour in British Columbia and taking
a few holiday days. Phone messages and emails
will be responded to as soon as they get back into the
office.
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Page 3 Newsletter #304
Congratulations To Janis and Mark Harris, Harris Flower Farm, on
the birth of their daughter, Megan Isabelle June. Born on March 24,
10lb, 21.25 in. A little sister for Cameron & Nathan and
granddaughter for Cathy McGregor-Smith & Gary Smith. To Brenda
Daniel, From the Meadow, whose daughter gave birth to her first
child, a son, on March 30, 2015. Brenda is look-ing forward to
having a another red head to help out on the farm.
A note from Browns Berry Patch Browns Berry Patch is located in
New York State. They have been OFFMA members for several dec-ades
and many of you may remember meeting them at various workshops and
tours. When we did not get their membership dues this year, we sent
them a note and here is their response You could not have served us
any better. Your news-letter & organization are both great! We
are not going to be opening our market this year as farmers Brown
is retiring after 30 years of fruit, fun and memories. We will miss
your newsletter & the many friends we have made. Bob &
Deborah Brown [email protected] We wish them all the best
in this new chapter of their lives.
Never get so busy making a living, that you forget to make a
life.
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Page 4 Fresh Facts
As an OFFMA member, you under-stand the importance of local
food. The Ontario government is also com-mitted to supporting the
good things grown, harvested and made right here in our province.
In 2013, as part of a broader strategy, the Ontario govern-ment
created the Local Food Act to help foster successful and resilient
local food economies and systems, increase awareness of local food
and beverages, and help develop new markets for them. As part of
the Act, a number of initiatives Local Food Week, the Food Donation
Tax Credit for Farmers, new food literacy goals have been
established to strengthen our local food culture and, in turn, our
province. Ontarios second annual Local Food Week is June 1-7 and is
a great op-portunity to not only celebrate the good work that you
do, but to help the public learn more about where their food comes
from and the benefits of buying and eating local. What better way
to deliver these important mes-sages than through conversations
with consumers at your on-farm mar-ket, agri-tourism attraction or
farmers market stall? During last years celebrations, many OFFMA
members used creative ways to mark the occasion. Fraberts Fresh
Food in Fergus featured different local food products each day and
hosted a local food festival with farmers, suppli-ers, and food
samples. VG Meats of Stoney Creek committed to donating one pound
of ground beef for every
pound sold in its stores on the Saturday of Local Food Week.
Online, a Twitter Party, led by Farm and Food Care On-tario
generated 16.7 million estimated impressions from 6,489 mentions of
the #loveONTfood hash tag during a 24 hour period. How can you
participate in Local Food Week?
Visit www.loveONTfood.ca to download a logo, graphics and a tip
sheet on how to promote Local Food Week.
Include #loveONTfood in all your social media postings.
Share your event plans with www.loveONTfood.ca for the Lo-cal
Food Week Events Calendar.
Plan a special on-farm event, bar-becue or dinner.
Offer an in-store promotion or have a customer contest.
Check Foodland Ontarios Twitter page in May for Twitter Party
reg-istration details,
However you choose to celebrate, be sure to spread the word when
speaking with customers, local media, and other food-related
businesses in your com-munity. We look forward to celebrating Local
Food Week with you from June 1st to 7th!
Lets Celebrate Local Food Week June 1st to 7th By Jessica Kelly,
Direct Market Lead, OMAFRA
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Page 5 Newsletter #304
An Idea to ShareFlexible Benches and Tables Submitted by Carl
Fletcher, Direct Marketing Enthusiast. Like the look and style of
wooden picnic tables but find storing the tables cum-bersome?
Alldredge Orchards, www.alldredgeorchards.com, of Platte City
Mis-souri have found a solution - benches that can be assembled to
form tables as well. All of the benches can be used as seats. To
form a table, two of the benches are placed side by side, lifted up
and the bottoms of the bench legs are inserted into a slot in a
stand that is placed at each end of the table. A simple wooden
cross-piece on the inside of the bench leg prevents the bench leg
from sliding down creating the appropriate height for the table.
The benches used as seats are free
standing from the tables. The benches are built with
col-lapsible legs and with sides that create enough depth to allow
the end legs to be folded in and be stacked in a sturdy and
com-
pact way as shown in the picture. I believe that these benches
were custom made by local craftsmen. Flexible seating and dining
with compact stor-age options and solid craftsmanship an idea worth
sharing with OFFMA members!
Ontario Bee Association OFFMA is partnering with OBA to recruit
beekeepers who are sell-ing honey directly to the consumer to
become OFFMA members and to let OFFMA members know about the
products that OBA has available. If you are selling Ontario honey
at your on-farm market and want some promotional material, have a
look at OntarioBee.com. Simply let them know you are an OFFMA
member when you are ordering. The OBA website has aprons, gatepost
signs and brochures and pamphlets to purchase. Educational
resources are also available to help with your school tours or as a
handout for your customers.
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Fresh Facts Page 6
Member ProfileKristin Ego MacPhail
Last fall, one of the stops on the On-tario Farm Fresh Simcoe
County/Muskoka Bus Tour was Egos Gar-den Centre & Farm Market.
Owner Kristin Ego McPhail made a presen-tation to the tour group
impressing us all with her enthusiasm, vitality, and vision for her
garden centre/farm market business. Now, its time to
share her experiences with the rest of the members of Ontario
Farm Fresh. Kristin grew up in the farm market and nursery business
that her parents Laury and Lorraine started in the mid -1970s on
their farm on Horseshoe Valley Road near Coldwater. She was
transplanting seedlings in the spring, selling fresh strawberries
at the farmers markets in the summer and helping with the fall
harvest of corn and pumpkins. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the
business gradually grew to include more greenhouse growing area and
an ex-panded farm market. After completing her BSc in agriculture
in 1998, Kristin came back to the busi-ness. Shortly thereafter,
the original small greenhouse was replaced by 18,000 square feet of
greenhouse plant production and over 20,000 square feet of growing
area. Another evolution of Egos Farm Market and Greenhouses took a
major step in
the fall of 2006, when Kristin and her husband, Gary MacPhail,
pur-chased the nursery busi-ness from her parents. From this moment
on, Kristin and her husband have been expanding and improving upon
the business. Working 60 to 100 hours a week and now employing 12
staff, theyve built upon the greenhouse and nursery operations as
well as the farm market, pick-your-own strawberries and
raspberries and roughly 160 aces of field crops, hay, sweet corn
and other vegetables. In addition, the farm shop also features
quality linens, seasonal home decorations and hort couture. Just
recently, Egos began offering cus-tom wreaths as well as decorative
ever-green containers during the Christmas season. Kristins role on
the farm is managing the greenhouse production, all the HR and all
the marketing and communica-tions for all parts of the business. In
the area of HR, she tries to hire people who have knowledge about
plants and good people skills. Because farming is sea-sonal, she
likes to hire young retirees and students. In the area of social
me-dia she uses an e-newsletter very effec-tively, driving
everything back to their web site. Egos Garden Centre & Farm
Market has a business plan that embraces di-versification and
sustainability while supporting themselves and their family as well
as contributing to the communi-ty. Kristin loves the dynamics of
farming, as she sees lots of opportunities to try new things with
which to challenge her-self. Following in her father Laurys
footsteps (OFFMA Director of the Board 1985-87), Kristin Ego
MacPhail has also recently been elected to the Board of Directors
for Ontario Farm Fresh.
Kristin Ego MacPhail
Linen and tablecloth display Display of decorative urn
inserts
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Newsletter #304 Page 7
Do you have animals on your farm? The OFFMA Office received a
note from a member about a month ago concerning visits from the
OSPCA. He only has 7 goats, a llama, 2 calves and 60 laying hens
and he was categorized as a zoo because he invited the public onto
his property in the summer and fall. This was a good re-minder to
review the Ontario SPCA Act. The following information was taken
from the Food and Farm Care website, it is easier to understand but
you may want to have a look at the actual Act as well if you have
an-imals on your farm, Here is the link to the information
highlighted as well as more detailed information.
http://www.farmfoodcare.org/images/pdfs/OSPCAFAQ.pdf Entry and
Enforcement Powers of the Ontario SPCA (as provided for under the
Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act or
Ontario SPCA Act, RSO 1990, revised 2008 and in force as of March
1, 2009) Protecting animals since 1873, the Ontario Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Ontario SPCA) is a non-profit
charitable organization with a province-wide network of 50 plus
community SPCAs and Humane Societies. The Ontario SPCA's mission is
to facilitate and provide for province-wide leadership on matters
relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals and the promotion
of animal welfare. The Ontario SPCA is one of the largest animal
welfare organizations in the country, providing care and shelter
for tens of thousands of animals every year. Visit
www.ontariospca.ca to learn more. Here are the headings to some
answers to commonly asked questions about the Ontario SPCA
regarding entry and enforcement. Changes to the Ontario SPCA Act
were passed by the Ontario Legislature in Novem-ber 2008 and the
new law came into force March 1, 2009. AUTHORITY TO ENTER PROPERTY
ORDERS THE ANIMAL CARE REVIEW BOARD (ACRB) PROVISION OF FOOD, CARE
OR TREATMENT REMOVALS DESTRUCTION OF AN ANIMAL COSTS INCURRED
CHARGES STANDARDS OF CARE EXCEPTIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES
INVESTIGATORS IDENTIFICATION BIOSECURITY OTHER AUTHORITIESAUTHORITY
TO ENTER PROPERTY You may also want to review the act itself at
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90o36_e.htm
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Page 8 Fresh Facts
Ontario Farm Fresh Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director 2002
Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9 Phone: 905-841-9278 E-mail:
[email protected] www.ontariofarmfresh.com
2015-16 OFFMA Board of Directors Leslie Forsythe, President
Forsythe Family Farms Nicole Judge, Vice President Spirit Tree
Estate Cidery Brian Hugli, Past President Huglis Blueberry Ranch
Kristin Ego MacPhail, Ego Nurseries Ltd. Hollis English, Murphys
Farm Market & Bakery Cara Epp, Associate Member Edana
Integrated Marketing Steve Martin, Martins Family Fruit Farm Dana
Thatcher, Thatcher Farms Karen Whitty, Whitty Farms Jessica Kelly,
OMAFRA Advisor
Upcoming Events November 2015 Bus Tour to British Columbia Stay
Tuned for various Farm to Fork and Webinar offerings There are
still a few spots left for Leslie Groves to come to your market and
help you with retail merchandising. Dont miss out on this great
opportunity.
NEW podcasts Four new podcasts have been added to the Member
Section of the OFFMA website. You can download these presentations
and listen to them while you are in the tractor or off doing a
supply pick up into town. You will also find 7 podcasts that were
posted last year on eve-rything from Farm Birthday Parties to Tips
on Hiring and Retaining Employees. Point of Sale Podcast Larry
Wolfe, Armagh School Tour Podcast Leslie Forsythe, Forsythes Family
Farm Succession Planning Resources and personal story, Dyann Birtch
Trends in Food Tourism John Stanley, John Stanley Associates