Written By Noah Taylor – Project Assistant Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance
The Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) is a not-for-profit organization that provides research and innovation infrastructure for agriculture in Northern Ontario by creating partnerships with various groups to research, innovate, and commercialize agricultural products and technologies for effective use in Northern Ontario. NOFIA’s mandate is built off the desire to promote agriculture within Northern Ontario. With NOFIA’s support, the local agricultural commodity groups came together in 2017 to create the event, “A Day in Farm Country”. Its success has made it become an annual event. A Day in Farm Country is an opportunity for the general public to visit a group of selected farms within the Temiskaming District. This one-day, self-guided car tour allows the community to have a first hand view of all the hard work that farmers do in order to bring food to our tables. On Saturday, August 12, 2023 NOFIA, along with the commodity groups, will host its fifth annual “A Day in Farm Country,” featuring five farm stops. Each farm will highlight and showcase a different area of agriculture: beef, dairy, crops, sheep, and vegetables.
This year, the crop stop will feature Poschaven Farms. Owner, George Posch, participated in an interview, answering questions about his operation as to what people should expect from visiting his farm as part of this year’s “A Day in Farm Country.”
Poschaven Farms is not your average crop farm. It is also a flour mill. On his 273-acre farm, George plants, grows, harvests, and cleans grain to prepare it for the flour-making process. George grows spelt, rye, and wheat on his farm, while the buckwheat is grown at a nearby farm owned by his son. Once George has cleaned all of the grain, only about 50% of the grain will make it through to the flour process. The rest is fed to his chickens, turkeys, and cattle. He stores the grain until an order for flour is placed, and then he gets to work running the flour mill. Poschaven Farms has numerous products that are all made on site and George holds himself to a strict organic standard, although he no longer holds third-party certification.
(Machinery George uses to process wheat and create flour)
“I’ll never sell something I won’t eat myself,” George says.
Products available consist of organic unbleached white flour, organic spelt flour, organic buckwheat flour (gluten free), organic rye flour, organic whole wheat flour, organic buckwheat pancake mix (gluten free), whole grain rolled oats, oatmeal, and organic creamy wheat ‘n’ bran breakfast cereal.
Being born into a farming family in Brantford, Ontario, George always knew he wanted to be a farmer. Even as a teenager, George would rent land so he could plant his own crops. This puts him in the farming industry for over 50 years, meaning he has seen farming change in many ways. When asked about the biggest changes he has seen in the farming industry over the years, George said that it has become more industrialized. There are more big farms and less “little guys.” George says very often you see “the big get bigger” while smaller farms decrease and can oftentimes struggle.
Even with the many changes in the industry throughout the years, George has remained dedicated to his farming. On a typical day, George will wake up around 5:00 A.M. and head out to his flour shop to make flour for about two hours. After that, he will have breakfast before heading back out to do numerous different jobs, such as seeding, fencing, caring for the animals, haying, and any other chores that need to be accomplished before dark. George says his favourite thing about farming is that “[there is] nobody telling me what to do and I don’t have to punch a time clock.” George enjoys working for himself and having freedom to do what he loves. While there are challenges in his business, like the struggle of growing millable grain, there are also great rewards that come with it. George loves to see the happiness that customers get from using his products and loves knowing when people use his products, they are getting pure, organic products.
In April 2023, George and Mary received a letter from a woman in Quebec who had used their flour and wanted to express her appreciation. “One of the best gifts I ever received for Christmas is Poschaven Farms unbleached white flour and whole wheat flour ,” Angele Gmeau writes in her letter. Angele expresses her difficulty finding flour that she could actually consume due to her body rejecting soy and nuts and the cross-contamination that often occurs during transportation of flour. She ends her letter saying, “I am therefore writing to let you know how much I appreciate what you do and to thank you for your hard work and dedication into making such fine products.” It is the stories like this that make it all worth it to George.
George works hard to maintain good soil health and to keep his crops healthy. Since George holds himself to a high organic standard, he only uses natural methods in his farming. George does not buy chemical fertilizers, sprays, or treated seeds of any kind. His main source of fertilization for his crops is manure. To maintain good soil health, George plants and plows down green cover crops.
When asked what his best piece of advice is for people interested in joining the agriculture community, George says, “be prepared to work long hours.” George goes on to say that farming is a “labour of love” and you really have to love what you’re doing. You also need to know what you are getting into; farming is a lot of hard work and long hours, it is definitely not a typical 9-5 job.
George is excited to be a part of this year’s “A Day in Farm Country” event. He opened up about how in 2013 his wife passed away and he came into a large sum of money. He had previously been making flour on an old bus, but he knew his wife would want him to continue building his dream, so in 2014 he began construction on his new flour shop. When building his shop, he made it with the intention of it being tour friendly, making Poschaven Farms a perfect stop for “A Day in Farm Country.” George says that this will give him the opportunity to show people the farm, what they have, and everything they do. He hopes to have the cleaning side of the flour shop open on the day to show everyone how the grain is cleaned before being brought over to be milled.
“A Day in Farm Country,” is an opportunity for members of the community to be educated on agriculture and the importance of farming. Among Poschaven Farms, stops have also been confirmed at Shalom Farms, a vegetable farm, and a dairy farm owned by Matthew Martin. For more information on “A Day in Farm Country,” visit www.nofia-agri.com or follow Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.