Farmer John’s Herbs
Farmer John’s Herbs is owned and operated by John and Heather Lohr. It is located underneath the Look-off, in a community called Medford, Kings County, Nova Scotia (near Wolfville).
John’s father started the farm in 1960 and John and Heather purchased it from him in 1987. John learned to farm from his father (and he is still learning from him); however, John also has a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Guelph (1985) and was awarded the Nuffield Agriculture Scholarship in 1998.
Farmer John’s Herbs has 150 acres of land, including about 30 acres of woods. When John and Heather bought the property, they changed it from a farm growing potatoes, cabbage and wheat, to one that produces primarily summer savory and baby carrots. Heather and John make much of their machinery, and have been willing to change crops and try new things.
Farmer John’s Herbs is perhaps best known for its 24 spice blends and 26 culinary organic herbs. These products are available in grocery stores throughout the Maritimes, and in giftware stores in Ontario and Eastern Canada.
Farmer John’s Herbs are not certified as a producer, but as a processor. In 2001, they planned to certify the farm if the organic herb sales met projections; however, as the sales were only 10% of expected, they remained in conventional production of vegetable and herbs, selling into Sobeys and Superstore. In 2004, John and Heather sold the vegetable business to a neighbor so that they could focus on the savory.
For John and Heather, organic certification was a process undertaken to give more distribution efficiency to their summer savory business. They distribute their savory directly to over 100 stores, and have found that adding organic herb and spice products increased their sales per visit and reduced their overhead. At Farmer John’s Herbs, they purchase certified organic herbs in bulk and package them into small packages and sell them into the Atlantic Superstore.
Becoming certified as a processor has been extremely beneficial to John and Heather, allowing them to learn a lot about organic food processing and about the general operation of food plants. “We always learn things when the inspectors visit and this has helped us greatly,” says John. He explains that the steps needed to become organic improved their entire operation, and he feels that it is important to have the opportunity to connect with the organic community and learn from each other.
Currently - although the organic herb sales are slowly increasing - the chances of the savory crop becoming certified is very unlikely as they are land trading with local, non-organic farmers to lengthen their rotation, due to the presence of Verticillium wilt in their soils. Even though they cannot become certified themselves as producers, John and Heather are very pleased that the sales of organic herbs are increasing and that they can offer these products to the marketplace.
In the future, John and Heather would like to possibly create a retail farm market, as they are currently a strictly wholesale business. They would also like to sell their products across Canada and internationally.
|
