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.
