Robin Hunt, originally from the Lower Mainland, spent her summers and holidays visiting her grandparents’ ranch in 100 Mile House.
“Growing up in the city and spending my summers on the ranch, I found I always wanted to run away to the country to be in nature. The connection to community, farm and food were big pulls for me,” Hunt said.
While farming in Squamish, Hunt and her then partner started a small community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, as they felt “a big disconnect from farm and food and wanted to find ways to support those connections,” before soon catching the “farm bug,” she said.
With the high cost of living in the Lower Mainland, making economic farming difficult, she moved up to her grandparents’ ranch in 2016 to continue her farming journey. She shares the farm with her grandmother, Karen Smith, and mother, Deanna Smith (along with a cat, dog, two horses and a hive of bees).
“I’ve always enjoyed living in smaller communities and tending to the land.”
Now, she grows fruits and vegetables, selling them directly to consumers through veggie boxes, at the farmers’ market as well as grocery stores, restaurants and other wholesalers. Her farm, Big Rock Ranch, is certified organic.
Of course, her day-to-day includes much more than that, as she’s busy maintaining the greenhouses, seeding, pruning, harvesting, packing and delivering produce, amongst many other things.
On June 3, 2023, she’ll be offering a workshop put on by the South Cariboo Sustainability Society. The workshop includes a farm tour of Big Rock Ranch, and she’ll share tips and tricks of the trade, such as protecting crops, irrigating and implementing other new tools.
Sustainability is essential to Hunt, who explained that since 2016, there has yet to be a consistent year, from heat domes and fires to floods and mid-season frosts.
“Stewarding the ecological systems we rely upon is at the heart of our farm. We use organic principles and are certified organic, we’re a certified bee-friendly farm that plants pollinator gardens, which sustain areas for native bees to nest and forage … We strive to enhance soil health and biodiversity by implementing low till practices, applying lots of compost, using walk-behind tractors for minimal soil compaction, and drip line irrigation for less water runoff and evaporation.”
While the journey toward sustainability may feel overwhelming for some, Hunt said to start small.
“Every little bit helps. Supporting local is a great way to cut down on our carbon footprint as most of our food is shipped from very far away.”
For those interested in learning more about farming or simply wishing to help on the farm, Hunt said to please reach out.
You can learn more about her ranch by visiting www.bigrockranch.ca.
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