By David MacDonald I t’s a pleasure to speak with you both today. I have to tell you, I love the tone of your business. Your sus- tainability model is inspiring and just looking at the photos on your website, I imagine that visitors to the farm immediately get why perfect preservation and responsible growth are at the forefront of your business plan. Can you please tell the readers how the model has evolved and about its successes? AB: We are really just trying to minimize our environmen- tal footprint by using and/or recycling what we can on the farm. As a result, we are able to save money by doing so. For example: feeding our livestock the spent grain from the brewing process reduces our feed costs; recycling the waste water from the brewery for irrigation use ensures we don’t have a well water supply issue during the dry summer months, which seem to be becoming more prevalent. “Well, we had an interest in the brewing industry for many years – and have brewed beer and wine as a hobby since university days.” CB: Yes, it started off with growing what we could to be self-sustainable – things like veggies and fruits – as one does when they move to a farm. The lavender is for both pleasure and products while the hops are for the craft brewing industry – and that came later. We even involve the animals here: the pigs till, they fertilize as they go, and ultimately they prepare the and for more crops. We return the favour to them with spent grain and excess veggies. It’s successful for us because it’s not only practical and good for our environment, but it adds another dimension to the experience you get when you visit the farm. It also ensures that our products are truly unique and sustainably sourced.
The website couldn’t be more user-friendly. I particu- larly appreciate how your contact page includes links with directions from mainland Nova Scotia’s three main travel hubs: Truro, the Annapolis Valley, and Halifax. For any readers who haven’t visited Hants County and the Municipality of the District of West Hants where you’re located, can you please tell them about where you call home? AB: I’d love to. West Hants is less than an hour drive from Halifax and Stanfield International Airport. The area is con- nected by a network of back roads with lots of interest- ing things to see and do, including restaurants, wineries, bakeries, a Provincial campground, nature hikes, high tides, u-picks, and beautiful scenery. The river that dissects the farm leads to one of the highest waterfalls in the county. CB: I have to say that it’s the best kept secret in Nova Scotia because of all this. As we say in all our branding, ‘It’s an adventure, or a wrong turn, that leads you here.’ You don’t expect it so close to the city, and when you find yourself here, you’re amazed. In any direction you’re experiencing something new: the beautiful Bay of Fundy, the beginning of Nova Scotia wine country, amazing farm-to- table restau- rants, and Nova Scotia craft breweries in a rural farm setting with so much more to offer than just a tasting room.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2017
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