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Keys to a successful pick your own farm

Thinking of adding pick your own to your farming operation? Check out this primer!

BY AMY HOGUE

Highly popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Pick Your Own (PYO) farms are making a serious come-back in Canada, surging alongside the local food movements and other farm direct marketing endeavours. The concept of farm direct marketing can be found in many forms in Canada, ranging from Pick Your Own (or U-Pick) to Community Supported [...] MORE


Previous Feature Articles

  1. Understanding Farm Activism

    Who does it? How’s it done? What works?

  2. CONTROLING PREDATORS

    Firearms are tools called on to deal with the three Ps: pests, predators and parting with livestock

  3. Growing great garlic

    Simple tips for a successful crop

  4. Smarten up!

    A compendium of the best and most interesting courses and conferences for small farmers

  5. Moving farm outbuildings

    How to safely skid and lift small structures

  6. The Power of Ten

    Five ways to improve your life on the farm by at least 10 percent

  7. When chickens come home to roost

    10 tips for healthy hen housing

  8. 5 common chicken questions

  9. Dietary changes that will benefit smaller food producers

    Boomer driven trends will favour local, healthy products

  10. Curious? Farm better, farm smarter!

    A compendium of the best and most interesting courses, conferences and resources for small farmers

  11. Farm Help

    Four Stories About Farm Help

  12. Why not try a Hugelbeet in your garden?

    A unique raised bed mimics natural processes

  13. Scaling Up

    Avoid pitfalls & maximize profit as you expand your herd or flock.

  14. A Man for all Seasons

    Eliot Coleman discusses the details of year-round gardening

  15. Ask A Vet.

    How to get the most from your veterinarian

  16. Education Special

    A comprehensive listing of the very best information sources, distance & in-class courses for small farmers!

  17. Getting the best bang for your cluck

    How to raise quality meat chickens

  18. Talking Shiitakes

    Three takes — and a plethora of tips — on these lucrative but labour-intensive mushrooms

  19. 11 Great On-Farm Businesses

    Some are fulfilling a lifelong dream in combining farming with another related passion. Some are making a few extra bucks by putting their skills and knowledge to good use. Some still can’t believe they’re doing what they’re doing—but all of the farm entrepreneurs featured here share one thing: they love it! If you’re interested in learning about some great farm-related business opportunities that might suit you, read on. In each success story, you’ll find tips, tricks, words of advice—along with laughter, passion . . . and inspiration!

  20. Understanding Heirloom Varieties

    For yesterday, today and tomorrow

  21. Is it time to join the alternative energy revolution?

    Options to empower the small farm

  22. Room to Manoeuvre

    Coop design and flock management are keys to successful use of portable chicken shelters

  23. Getting in the Game

    Raising game birds isn’t simple, but some producers have carved out a lucrative niche

  24. Grains for the Garden

    Don't have a quarter section to raise grain? Don't worry! Grains grown on a small-scale can yield excellent results.

  25. Small Acreage? Try Small Cattle

    Easier to handle than conventional cattle breeds, Miniature Hereford, Lowline and Dexter offer interesting marketing opportunities

  26. Adopt-A-Pig, Save-A-Farm

    Nova Scotia farm jumps at a program that connects producers with buyers

  27. A New Farming System

    Saskatoon market gardener Wally Satzewich is selling a growing program that claims to generate as much as $50,000 from just half an acre.

  28. Beginning With Bison

    A Saskatchewan family enjoys bison on the hoof and on the plate

  29. SPECIAL OF THE DAY

    The Tricks of selling Your Products to Restaurants

  30. Keep Them to Eat Them & Eat Them to Keep Them

    A Bold New Approach to Preserving Rare Breed Livestock and Their Wealth of Genetic Diversity.

  31. KEEP OUT!

    14 Strategies for Keeping Birds Out of Crops & Gardens

  32. Versatile Goats

    Whether they are raised for meat, fibre or dairy, goats are a viable option for small farms