I found out why the pig crossed the road, learned how to tell if an egg is fresh and finally found out how to tell when a watermelon is ripe. I also learned about the only greenhouse to grow organic vegetables in southern Alberta.

My recent farm field trip in Southern Alberta, courtesy Rudy Knitel,  Galimax Trading Inc. was an amazing journey into my own back yard. I found out how difficult it is to farm organically in Southern Alberta. The carrots, for instance, are on a 16 year rotation at Leffers’ Organic farm where the cost to raise a carrot is ten times that of conventional farming. Twenty acres of carrots are grown a year on a 500 acre farm. The rest of the land is growing other crops to help the soil on the irrigated farm recover from the crop of carrots. This is no small feat. Imagine if most of your workplace had to sit idle while you worked just a small portion. The end result is beautiful organic carrots grown by Cornelius and his brother Howard and shipped to shops and chefs in Calgary and beyond.

Our visit to the Mans organic greenhouse was an eye opener. I should have known it was unusual but when Henk Mans told us they might be the only certified organic farm growing greenhouse tomatoes in Alberta I was surprised until they mentioned to be certified you need to grow in soil and of course most of the greenhouse growers use hydroponics because it is easier.

So thanks to Galimax and all the farmers on tour for sharing their knowledge and expertise and look for my columns in the Calgary Herald and CrebNow for additional coverage of this great trip.

PS The pigs could cross the road and they do – to get to the field they are eating. I found it funny that they don’t trot off because the electric fence doesn’t go across the road. Instead, the leave the barn, walk across the road and back into the field. Very polite pigs at Broek farms!