After
growing up on a conventional farm, the young family decided to give
organic agriculture a shot: they were looking for a fresh start, and
Ernest's curiosity was piqued when he started to do extensive research
into organic methodology. It all started as a hobby, "I just wondered",
says Ernest, "can we really survive without chemicals? I wasn't sure if
you could, so I thought I'd try it myself." They only started organic
production in 2005, and they're still experimenting with organic
methods in different types of crops.
Five Tier Farm is a well known producer of organic potatoes in New
Brunswick, growing the traditional Yukon Gold, Russet and Red
varieties. They also grow organic grains such as Hulless Oats, Red Fife
Wheat, Milling Wheats, Dry Corn, and Winter Spelt, that they sell to
Speerville Flour Mill; a mill focused on supporting local farmers and
providing healthy food. They produce crops on almost 600 acres, and
approximately 200 of those are organic. (Presently there is not enough
demand for organic crops to warrant certifying the whole farm.)
Five Tier Farm has a name to match the rich history of the farmstead.
Very early on in New Brunswick's agricultural history, the fertile
Saint John river valley was allotted to the new settlers by England in
tiers: large rectangles of approximately 100 acres each - evenly
dividing the most fertile land in the area. Five Tier Farm has rolling
land that spans five of those original tiers.
The farming history runs in the family too, Ernest's father was a
farmer, as well as his grandfather and great grandfathers. Ernest came
back to farming in 1997 after completing a degree in business from the
University of New Brunswick. Beverley and Ernest married in 1999, and
they now have two adorable young children. Beverley does everything but
the fieldwork: all the bookkeeping and organic certification forms, and
the chickens. Despite being a young family, the Culbersons' are not new
to the farming business and they have a lot of experience and expertise
behind them.
The Culbersons' future plans are to keep trial and error experimenting
with organics, continuing to develop their crops, and offering the
local best to their customers!
See
www.fivetierfarms.com for further information.
