Emerald farm given P.E.I. award for environmental excellence
A family farm from Emerald has been given an award for environmental excellence, a mark of recognition for its hard work throughout the 2023 season.
The Hon. Gilbert Clements Award, which recognizes excellence in sustainable agriculture, is an annual award given at the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture’s annual general meeting. Bunny Burrow Vegetable Co. is the 2023 recipient.
“It’s quite an honour to be recognized by your peers in the industry,” Andrea McKenna said in a recent interview with SaltWire.
Andrea and Gordie McKenna, alongside their children, operate the carrot and rutabaga farm in Emerald. The McKenna family purchased what would become Bunny Burrow Vegetable Co. in 2020 and have been farming and experimenting with agricultural sustainability ever since.
The McKennas have a longstanding focus on youth education and agricultural awareness, hosting information sessions and field trips throughout the school year.
“Farming is like no other business. It’s a family business no matter what way you cut it,” Andrea said.
The McKenna family members are strong advocates for agriculture in the classroom, and regularly invite schools for educational field trips.
Andrea is the executive director of the East Prince Agri-Environment Association (EPAA), a grassroots organization of producers in the East Prince region, focused on innovation and environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The EPAA has been an advocate for environmental success, with several member farms participating in soil, water and topography (SWAT) mapping and agriculture assessments from Dialed in.
Utilizing the space provided by their own farm, the McKenna family has been experimenting with variable-rate fertilizers on their fields. Some experiments the farm has participated in include pot ash, SWAT mapping, all to improve the health and efficiency of Bunny Burrow.
“I’d love to make it our own little experiment farm where we can really push the limits on trying some of these things and make it as sustainable as we possibly can, to showcase what can be done to the rest of the industry.”
Andrea said the family endeavours to operate the farm in a sustainable manner, with a focus on increasing efficiency on the farm without increasing negative impact on the environment.
Gordie has been one of the operating minds behind Dialed in Precision Ag Services since 2016. The service specializes in improving the usage of soil additives by surveying the field and providing X-ray analyses of agricultural land, allowing farmers to be site-specific with fertilizer and seeds.
“It is compelling to us as farmers to use (natural fertilizer alternatives) not just to our advantage but to the environment’s advantage, and get away from the dependence on synthetic fertilizers as a whole,”
Alongside the EPPA, Bunny Burrow also began working with watershed groups to better understand the relationship between agriculture and the environment.
“There was a lot of interaction between the watershed groups and the farmers,” Andrea said.
The farming family intends to continue its environmental work into the 2024 season and has already planned for several fertilizer experiments through the growing season.
Caitlin Coombes is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. She can be reached by email at caitlin.coombes@saltwire.com and followed on X @caitlin_coombes.
Caitlin Coombes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Guardian
