While many people might reel at the thought of another Zoom meeting, farming can be an isolating career at the best of times, so we were pretty grateful/desperate to shoot the breeze with other farmers at the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario Conference. Tim spent a lot of the week on the porch on Zoom while cleaning, grading and braiding garlic and topping carrots. His favourite time of day was 5:30, social hour. Participants grabbed a drink and had a natter about all things farming, from greenhouses to star-nose moles, to giving land back to first nations.
Tracy was inspired by a young new urban farmer in Toronto. With a passion for food justice she has worked really hard to incorporate people of colour and those marginalized into the farming world by running a mentor-ship program called "Growing in the Margins" for youth under 30. Tracy also was encouraged to hear about the varying methods that farmers are exploring to grow without tilling the soil: using cover cropping, cardboard and tarping to keep moisture in the soil, reduce weeds and improve health of the soil biology.
