This time on the podcast, a conversation with Vincent and Lewis Burkholder, a pair of brothers who worked summers for the local sweet corn baron as teenagers and ended up taking over his operation, sort of. I'm referring, of course, to The Burkholder Bros Corn Farm, a business that thwarted my effort to nab the URL I wanted in order to promote a new sport I invented where contestants race to try to catch an ear of corn dangled on a stick mounted to a 2009 Honda Fit.

I was interested to talk to Vincent and Lewis because of their reputation for innovative approaches to the planting, cultivation, and harvesting of sweet corn. We talk about that, how they were forced to pivot from a tried and true sales model in their first year of production because of a crown-shaped virus, why they’re okay with a grizzly bear taking up residence in the corn patch, and a bunch more.

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Mentioned in this episode:

The Cover Cropping Field Day Advertised at the Head of this Episode

Head to https://organicbc.org/events/ to register for the field day at Lakeland Farms on October 2nd. Here's a summary: On Friday, October 2nd, join Organic BC and Ecocert at Lakeland Farms in Salmon Arm for a hands-on day exploring cover cropping, soil health, and drought resilience. Tour Lakeland Farms and learn more about their business model and where cover cropping fits in, along with the economics of cover cropping, the tools used to manage hundreds of acres of cover crops, and how they’re integrating cattle grazing into their cover crops. You’ll also hear from agrologist Tanya Brouwers on using cover crops to build soil organic matter, retain moisture, and strengthen farm resilience, and will have the opportunity to take part in simple, practical soil assessments you can use on your own farm. Refreshments and snacks will be generously provided by Askew’s Foods. This event is free and open to anyone interested, but registration is required. Learn more and save your spot at: eventbrite.ca/e/cover-cropping-drought-resilience-soil-assessment-lakeland-farms-tickets-1998671910487 Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) – On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF).