GrainsWest Summer 2018

The Food Issue 2018 grainswest.com 9 BY IAN DOIG Make a grocery getaway The Innisfail Growers family-farm group consists of five livestock and vegetable operations whose products are available at grocery stores and farmers markets in Red Deer, Calgary and Innisfail. Grocery getters are encouraged to collect stamps as they visit all five of the group’s member farms to earn future farmers market discounts on Innisfail Growers Customer Appreciation Day, August 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Farms include Edgar Farms, The Jungle Farm, Hillside Greenhouses, Beck Farms and Upper Green Farm. Field tours and you-pick opportunities are the order of the day. Visit innisfailgrowers.com for more details. Dinewith dairy farmers The East Olds Dairy Farmers group launched Alberta Milk’s Breakfast on the Dairy Farm events several years ago, giving the public a behind-the-scenes look at the industry’s farm-level operations. Two separate events in 2017 drew a total of 3,400 visitors. Three breakfasts will be held throughout the province this summer. Free to the public with no RSVP required, the events include a hot morning meal, dairy barn tours and family-friendly games and activities. For directions and complete details, visit albertamilk.com . Pick, play and feast A short drive north of Edmonton in Bon Accord, Prairie Gardens and Adventure Farm is a dining and recreational destination located on a 32-acre, you-pick farm— the most northerly of its kind in Canada—growing strawberries and 50 varieties of pumpkin. Its many family-friendly attractions include corn and straw-bale mazes and animal enclosures as well as campfire rentals. The farm’s long-table, field-to-fork dinners are sociable affairs that feature fire-cooked courses prepared by the farm’s resident chef. For details on admission, the August long weekend Fairy Berry Festival, Labour Day Corn Fest and more, visit prairiegardens.org . Explore Alberta’s country roads Andrew Campbell of Turner Valley takes guests on customizable agricultural day trips that depart from the Somerset–Bridlewood CTrain station on the south end of Calgary. Having grown up on a cattle ranch near Turner Valley, as a young man Campbell spent a couple of years working as a professional rodeo competitor in Australia. In the outback, he developed a taste for exploring off the beaten track. Now a financial adviser, he remains a rodeo competitor, maintains a flock of sheep and operates Agro Scenic Tours, guiding rural and urban visitors from around the world down Alberta’s back roads to meet farmers face to face. Excursions may include stops at cattle ranches, grain farms, honey and berry operations, Hutterite colonies and more. Tours can be arranged year- round, but Campbell’s high season typically runs from late May through early August. For details and bookings, visit agroscenictours.ca.