This is the Farmers' Institute Fall newsletter, a busy time for everyone. Just scroll down for your reading pleasure and FOLLOW THE LIGHT BLUE LINKS TO WEBSITES OR VIDEOS. Below is a handy content list.
We thank Cam & Vera Robinson of Hope Hill Farm for their enthusiastic interview for our "What's Up On The Farm" section. Thanks once again to Scott Simmons for doing the video.

Contents

SSIFI Events, Clubs & Updates of Interest

Farmers' Institute - Fall Fair Sept. 15th-16th '' FROM BARNS TO YARNS ''

Another day, another Fall Fair....as a matter of fact the 116th Fall Fair. The 2012 edition of this venerable event has come and gone and it is generally agreed that this was one of the best Fairs ever. The weather Gods were in our corner, we actually heard a couple of “it's too hot “ complaints.
The Fair menu contained all of the perennial favourites plus a few new events that proved very popular.
The question most commonly asked at the end of the Fair is...what was the attendance ?? This year some 10,000 people attended the Fair. An amazing figure when you consider that statistics Canada peg the population of Salt Spring at 10,500. Saturday was, as usual, the busiest of the two days.

We would be remiss in not thanking our two excellent bus drivers for transporting hundreds of visitors safely to the gates.....thank you, thank you.

A special merit award should be presented to them for safely negotiating the trip up Rainbow Road...what a night mare !! Thank you also to Gordon Cartwright and his crew of drivers on the Fall Fair Express cars for safely assisting the elderly and handicapped visitors on to the grounds. Thanks also to the army of volunteer ticket booth attendants.

Special recognition to the entire 400 plus volunteers who help make the Fair a success. This is an amazing group of people who take pride in making this the premier event on their communities calendar.

Thanks also to the folks who contributed to the Fair by entering flowers, vegetables, fruit,
hobbies,needle work,quilts, baking, pickles and preserves, beer and wine, photos, and the many poultry and livestock entries. Thanks to the Arts and Crafts communities for displaying their dazzling accomplishments. All of these displays totalled in excess of 2100 entries. We always like to remind people that we only supply the venue, you supply the show !!

For all of the effort involved in presenting these 2100 entries, almost 200 trophies were awarded. Lawrie Neish spends Saturday and Sunday engraving the Trophies on sight, so that we can make the award on Sunday afternoon. Our Fall Fair is the only Fair in the entire Province that offers this kind of service....well done Lawrie.

We should make quick mention of some of the new events and some of the old standards that were,once again, outstanding. The sheep dog trials were, as usual, one of the crowd pleasers, a great show put on by Mike and Marjorie Lane. Next door was the exciting Zucchini 500 races....This year, featuring a new 3 lane race track, designed and built by Mike and Noella Fraser. This allowed for more participants and new racing categories. The Spinners and Weavers group presented a fibre display and a sheep to shawl demonstration. This event was celebrating their 40th anniversary. Thanks to the Farmers on Salt Spring for filling the livestock and poultry barns with an outstanding display of their stock. A great show !! The 4-H Club displayed their many and varied skills. Rod Bailey, Ian Kyle and helpers treated us to an exceptional display of antique equipment and tractors. The tractor pull was another highlight. Michelle Boyd planned several different demonstrations at the horse show.

We were able to get through both days of the horse show without having to cancel any events due to poor conditions. The entertainment was superb and continuous for both days. Maggie Warbey put the show together. Thanks to all of the musicians for an outstandingly great 2 days of entertainment. Oh yes, and just a reminder, our Fall Fair has no sponsors and all our entertainment is offered free from our deep well of talent on this island.

Mention has to be made about some of the new events this year. First was the rooster crowing contest. What a super show this was for an initial try. Scott Simmons was the host/emcee and was ably assisted by a judging panel of local politicians and celebrities. Fun ! Fun!
Another new event this year was the Dog Agility Demonstrations. These folk put on extremely entertaining shows both days of the Fair. We think both of these events are keepers and should become regular features at the Fair.

As usual, the food was outstanding. This year, for the first time, our new Abattoir Society manned the BBQ pit and treated us to the “Abby” burger. Celebrity chefs were on hand to help kick off this new venture and judging from the response {sold out both days} this should be another keeper. Food from several countries and cultures was featured. Of course, the Pie ladies were their usual hit...the line-ups didn't deter people from waiting for their favourite slice. In the food court area, the brand new and just completed dish washing station was christened and Connie Wray and the Girl Guides, parents and helpers seemed pleased with the new facility. Salt Spring Fall Fair is the only Fair in the entire Province providing this eco- friendly service.

In short, thanks to everyone who helped make this Fair a truly grand event. It couldn't happen without you !!

Bittancourt Museum

The museum had quite a successful year this year. After the Heritage Day, which was quite well attended, the museum was open to the public for five hours a day, five days a week for the months of July and August. Using volunteers for staffing, we were able to save a lot of money compared to last year when we used paid staff. The intention was to have no one person do more than one, two and a half hours shift per week. This sometimes didn't work due to personal schedules, illnesses etc. So for next year we would like a few more Farmers Institute members to volunteer for the occasional shift. We need to have a schedule of volunteers organized no later than the beginning of June, anyone willing to put in a little time to help with this can contact me, John Fulker, at 537-4895 or e-mail jandifulker@gmail.com With the aid of a generous grant from the Salt Spring Island Foundation we are now completing a storage area in the attic of the museum. The space has been opened up to give some headroom, an electric hoist has been installed to bring up items for storage and we are now starting to install a removable ladder to a ceiling hatch inside the building to provide easy access. At the moment we have to set up a ladder outside the building in order to get access through a door near the roof. This extra space will enable us to accept more donated items and to periodically rotate some of the displays.
A recent visit to the museum by the girl guides proved that young people do appreciate and enjoy the museum. At the end of the visit, when the parents arrived to take the girls home, many of the girls insisted that their parents come in to see various things that are on display.
Financial donations to the museum were down quite dramatically this year but with an improving economy that situation should improve in the coming year.
In October we had a post season brainstorm meeting of the volunteers for this year and many good ideas came from this regarding promotion of the museum, to raise public awareness as well as ideas for raising more funds. We are exploring the idea of expanding the main building at the rear in order to obtain more display space. The directors of the IFI Foundation are working to find ways to make our museum better known and to attract more visitors. Suggestions from the Farmers Institute members will be well received.

Gulf Islands Spinning Mill

The wool spinning mill, on the grounds of the Farmers Institute, has entered an important phase after fourteen years. The mill co-op received a grant from the Investment Agriculture Foundation to pursue a feasibility study into the possibility of forming a pilot project to demonstrate the possibility of organizing a series of small community mills around the province. The mills would serve the needs of wool producers in different areas and enable them to take control of the processing of their own products rather than selling bulk wool at low prices or shipping wool out of province for processing.
A survey questionnaire was prepared by Vivienne Challendes, an employee at the mill and e-mailed to wool producers and wool users around the province to determine the current rates of production, the uses now made of wool and the present opportunities to sell value added wool products. So far over three hundred replies have been received. Vivienne has now travelled around much of the province, meeting wool producers and support groups, their response to this proposal has been very positive.
It has been recommended by the IAF Foundation that the mill now apply for a grant to enable the leasing of more productive machinery, our present machinery is not productive enough for such a project. The lease would be for an eighteen month period with the option to purchase if the pilot project receives a positive response. So far letters of support and some offers of direct financial support, have been received from several large organizations including the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers.
If we do receive the grant we will obtain the equipment from a firm in Michigan. I have recently visited three mills in the US using various machines. Based on my observations equipment from Michigan is by far the most suitable for this project. The equipment that I watched in production can produce double or more the output per hour that our current machinery can produce and the quality is higher than we can produce at the moment. The Salt Spring mill would be used as a training facility for others who are interested in being part of the project.
This is a very exciting development in the history of the Gulf Islands Spinning Mill and we hope it will assure the mill of an important and viable future.

Poultry Club

The Poultry Club meetings are held at the Farmer’s Institute (upstairs at the back of the main building) or at members’ farms from 1:00-3:00 pm on the 4th Thursday of each month. Please check the calendar for detailed information on location and topic.
We will plan a quarterly meeting for the junior members. Bonnie, our Junior Coordinator, will arrange this. These may take the form of Saturday workshops at different farms so the youth can have some hands- on learning.
New members are always welcomed and encouraged! An interest in poultry is the only prerequisite.

Sheep Breeders

The Sheep Breeders group has once again been meeting regularly. We attempt to have an agenda generated from the interests of those in the group. We are a diverse group, with new farmers and experienced; some with just 3 or 4 sheep and some with much larger flocks but we are all eager to gain and share knowledge. Hopefully our group will welcome more sheep farmers in the future. For more information contact Jenny McKee (537-1471) or join us at 7pm 2nd Monday of every month at the Farmers’ Institute. Next meeting is Nov.12th.

Salt Spring Island 4H Club Community Club

SSI 4H Community Club has enjoyed a very busy year.

Although our numbers are small (presently 13 members), the families and leaders have worked hard to support those members continue with several annual events. It has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and effort by the youth as they work toward achievement in their chosen project(s).

The club wishes to thank the very supportive families and volunteer leaders who invest tHeir time in the club and its members in achieving their goals and sharing their vast knowledge.

This year we participated in;
- Foxglove Farm and Garden Day,
- Ruckle Heritage Farm Day
- 9oombes Fair
- Pender Fair
- Cowichan Exhibition
- SSI Fall 6air
- District and Regional Public Speaking
- Toastmasters events and other community events.
Two of our senior members graduated from high school this year and are moving on to post-secondary education.

We have been saddened by the loss of one of our long-time leaders, Anne Royal.

We will be celebrating the achievement and successes of our members at our Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony on November 10th.

Thank you to Mike Lakin for assisting as our liaison for the Fall Fair this year.

We are seeking new leaders for our club and any interest should be directed to Loretta Rithaler at 250-537-1527 or lrithaler@telus.net.

Of course, new members are welcome any time! Contact as above

Famous Recipes

Margaret's Coffee Cake Recipe Finally Made Public by Court Order!

FRESH RHUBARB CAKE

Cream 1/2 cup butter with 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 2 large eggs

Add 3/4 cup sour milk, 2 cups flour,1 tsp soda , 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp allspice

Add 2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
Blend all ingredients gently

Pour into 9x13 buttered pan or 2 loaf pans

Top with 1/4 cup (or less) sugar,2 tsp cinnamon and 1 cup finely chopped nuts

Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Note: if using frozen rhubarb, omit sour milk and use 1/4 cup powdered milk to compensate for juice from thawing fruit.

Our Farming Community Remembers

Anne Royal

August 23, 1940 - Sept. 7, 2012
Anne was born in Victoria, moving to Salt Spring shortly thereafter. She was predeceased by her husband Richard in 1997. She is survived by her son Scott, daughter Tanis and granddaughter Molly. Anne trained to be a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Victoria doing homecare throughout her life.
She was one of the original market vendors! A gardener, a mom, a farmer and finally a grandmother. Anne enjoyed all things outdoors, going to the beach, fishing, walks and picking mushrooms. She worked very closely with 4H Community Club Cloverbuds here on Salt Spring.

Our History

Turkeys On Salt Spring Island by Margaret Thompson

There was a time when.......

turkeys on Salt Spring Island outnumbered people ten to one. In the 1950s three farms each raised thousands of Bronze turkeys, brought in as day olds from a hatchery in Victoria and processed on the farms where they were raised.

Much has changed since then. Turkeys have been bred to be faster growing and more efficient at feed conversion, and to tolerate high density conditions in barns with climate control. Even the predominant feather colour has been changed from bronze to white, because any small feathers not plucked are less noticeable. The modern birds produce a known amount of meat in a predictable time, under the watchful eye of the Turkey Marketing Board.

The turkeys of the 1950s do not do well under that kind of system, but they thrive if raised out of doors with just enough “management” to provide optimal foraging and nesting conditions with protection from predators. Salt Spring now has most of the old breeds of turkey described by the American Poultry Association in the late 1800s. Some are almost unchanged since the 1940s, and all of them breed naturally, lay seasonally and can hatch their own young (called poults). In a free range situation they can live for 10 years or more.

Turkeys are still raised here commercially using poults from hatcheries. They reach market weight in 10 -16 weeks, compared with at least 28 weeks for the historic ones. They lose their ability to fly at few weeks of age and so don’t require a roost. Their breast bone is shorter with a greater depth and breadth of meat and their legs are shorter, so they have a lot more white meat than dark.

The frozen turkeys sold in grocery stores can be offered so cheaply because they live in barns that house thousands and have automated feeding, watering, temperature control and ventilating systems. Some producers have their own licenced slaughter facilities, so that transport of market ready birds is almost eliminated. All of this combined with bulk feed purchasing keeps the cost to a minimum, but is totally dependent on fossil fuel to control the environment.

When heat waves in the US resulted in power outages and overheating of the barns there was nothing that could be done to save the turkeys. In early spring if power is cut off to the poults they die very quickly without extra heat. Even the supply of fertile eggs is dependent on artificial light if turkeys hens are required to lay year round to keep up a steady meat supply. Incubators are completely dependent on a power source, and an interruption of even a few hours can have devastating effects.

Susceptibility to disease is also a potential problem as these birds, although not cloned, are very much alike genetically, being bred to respond with very predictable weight gains to very precise amounts of feed.

If something major ever does go wrong with industrial production the solution may lie with the slow old turkeys from the past, now known as Standard or heritage turkeys, which almost became extinct in the 1990s. Thanks to the work of conservation breeders they are still around and gaining in popularity. They have great genetic diversity and superior immunity, so if the needs of the meat industry change they will have much to contribute.

On Vancouver Island there are bronze turkeys of very diverse origins. Some are direct descendents of a 1920s importation to Sooke from the States; others in Cobble Hill are from the Wishard family’s flock in Oregon; and the Ridley Bronze, kept alive by the University of Saskatchewan, have now spread all over the country. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The wild turkeys of Mexico, from which our modern turkey is derived, come in many colours, black, brown, red, blue, white, speckled, spotted, barred, and combinations too numerous to mention. Salt Spring has Bronze, Bourbon Red, Beltsville Small White, Black, Blue Slate, Lavender, Sweetgrass, Royal Palm, Narragansett and crosses of some of these which may not have a name or be classed as a breed, but can be incredibly beautiful. Ruckle Park has many lovely examples of the effect of genetic mingling, and is proof of fitness to live happily off grid.

The heritage turkey’s slow growth rate means that their meat has a firmer texture and a more intense flavour than most of us are used to. Their longer thinner breast may not be as easy to carve, and the trussed bird’s long legs may not fit a 21st century roasting pan, but the rich taste of the meat and ultimately the soup makes it a treat worth seeking out.

Turkeys may no longer outnumber humans, but some can claim at least 10 generations on island, which makes them an authentically local as well as a truly sustainable food resource.

To find live heritage turkeys to breed contact Margaret Thomson at windrush@telus.net. To find commercial or heritage turkeys to eat see the Farmers Institute producers list.

Nov. 5th,2012