Reghan, Jenna & Connor are the three lucky children of RJC Farms
Organic Snowpeas, Beans Strawberries & Early Potatoes are their specialty!
Phillip McInnes began farming to provide organic medicinals to a Nova Scotian company, Naturally Nova Scotia. Having inherited his father’s farm, he wanted to put the land back into production and a perennial herb crop seemed to suit his lifestyle. He began by planting a few rows of Saint John’s wort and then switched to several acres of milk thistle, which he gave up in favour of vegetables in 2005. On the side, Phillip always grew vegetables, providing some of the locals and tourists with fresh farm veggies. When the vegetable market seemed to take off he was delighted to find that his three children were excited to take on a bigger role on the farm.
RJC farms is not an arbitrary name; the farm is named after Rehgan, Jenna and Connor, Phillip’s three children, who at various points have all helped significantly on the farm. In the past few years Connor has taken a keen interest in the farm and has been growing and selling vegetables as a form of summer employment. They have found a great niche market with the summer tourists, who are delighted to find fresh, local and organic produce available on the Island.
Their farm is located in Earnscliffe, right on the water, about 20 minutes from Charlottetown in a community-oriented tourist destination. They have 10 acres that are certified organic fields. “It’s good land,” claims Phillip, “we get the best view of the red cliffs on Prince Edward Island and warm water from the Oral Bay, which makes our growing season longer than most.” There are also a lot of cottages in the area, and they provide a steady clientele for the farm’s bounty in the summer. The tourists also provide earnings for the local restaurants and are known to ask, “is this produce organic?” thereby increasing the demand for organics within the local restaurant industry as well.
Philip was encouraged by the Naturally Nova Scotia company to become certified organic and in 1998 he received his full organic certification. Although Phillip says it wasn’t hard to convince him about the benefits of organic certification, the more he got into organic production methods, the more he saw the logic and sense of growing without harmful chemicals. “Consumer awareness fuels our decision too, people asking for organic makes a difference and it means that we’re giving our products more value and avoiding the competition with the major stores.” Also, with three young children involved in the process, it was clear to Phillip that organic agriculture was the best choice.
Although RJC Farms is famous for their mixed vegetable production, their favourite crops are potatoes, beans, snow peas and strawberries. In fact, they are well-known for their early potato crops which are picked as early as the first week of July.
“I enjoy working on the farm,” says Phillip, “but a lot of the future of this farm will depend on Connor’s continued interest,” he says. If his son wants to keep up the farming summers then it’s likely that RJC farms will continue to grow and expand their client-base and crops. Tourists are more than welcome on the farm. In fact both Connor and Phillip encourage visitors to call in advance to make plans to visit the farm where you can learn a few farming tricks while you harvest your own meal.
