.

Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

HAY RIVER - The president of the Territorial Farmers Association believes there are many positive aspects to growing your own food.

Andrew Cassidy said it is good for the economy, the environment and healthy eating.

Andrew Cassidy, the president of the Territorial Farmers Association, holds a handful of soil in his family's market garden in Hay River's Paradise Valley. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

And he practises what he preaches.

Cassidy, who has been the association's president for the last two years, owns a market garden in Hay River's Paradise Valley, about 24 km from downtown.

However, the 33-year-old doesn't consider himself a farmer.

"I don't think I could call myself a farmer with a straight face," he said, adding his market garden is smaller than a typical farm and his wife, Helen Green, is more involved in growing the produce.

Cassidy said farming to him is more of a hobby.

Besides, he has a full-time job as a forester with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Cassidy said some people in Paradise Valley can be considered farmers because they grow large crops, such as potatoes.

The Cassidys and their five-year-old daughter live on a 7.5-acre lot on the banks of the Hay River. About a quarter of the land contains their house and gardening operation, while the rest is covered with trees.

They grow such things as carrots, lettuce, radishes, corn, potatoes and strawberries in their gardens.

They are also building a greenhouse where they plan to grow tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, garlic, eggplant, celery and herbs.

"It's amazing what you can grow here," Cassidy said.

Some of what is grown in the garden is sold.

"It pays for itself," Cassidy said. "We're not losing money on it."

However, selling some of the produce is not the main reason the family grows it.

Cassidy said having quality, fresh food is important to his family, as they know what the inputs are and don't have to worry about pesticides and herbicides.

"We have ultimate control over it," he said.

Cassidy said he enjoys being immersed in the production of the family's food.

"You really see where your food is coming from – from seed to sprout," he said.

This is the fourth year the family has had the market garden.

Cassidy, who was born and raised in Yellowknife, has lived in Hay River for about 10 years and moved to Paradise Valley about seven years ago.

His family's garden has a real farm appeal to it. There are tractors, stacks of hay and lots of animals – a horse, donkey, a couple of goats and rabbits, along with cats and dogs.

As president of the Territorial Farmers Association, Cassidy said he works with the rest of the board to promote agriculture as a viable industry in the NWT.

One of the biggest hurdles the association faces is the public perception of what constitutes agriculture, he said, adding most people think of thousands of acres cultivated on the Prairies when they think of farming.

"In the Northwest Territories, people don't want to see that," he said, adding he doesn't want to see it either.

Instead, he pointed to an association study that has shown a marginal increase in the amount of land dedicated to agriculture in the NWT could mean about 25 per cent of current food imports could be replaced by locally-grown produce.

The association president said people can grow many things in their gardens, even on small lots of land. Cassidy said he believes the agriculture industry in the NWT will be jumpstarted by the changing attitudes of people, who want to have more control over what they eat.