Sue Iaboni, with notes from Fiona Cowles, Andy MacPherson, and Cathy Wellesley

As the Schomberg Agricultural Society celebrates its 160th anniversary, the farming community in King Township can
look back on an interesting journey since 1850.

In those days, farm grants were usually about 200 acres and the crops were varied. Farmers raised a few cows for milk and later, meat, some grains such as wheat, oats and barley, some root crops; potatoes and turnips for example, a pig, chickens for eggs, and maybe a few apple and pear trees at the back. Near the house would be a vegetable garden
for growing beans, tomatoes, and cabbages. Husbands and wives would rise early and work together; hand-milking
the cows, ploughing the fields with horse-drawn equipment, preserving the crops by pickling or canning, and falling into
bed exhausted at the end of the day. The goal of the farmers was to feed themselves and their families, and perhaps to
exchange crops with a few local neighbours.

How things have changed! Nowadays a large farm operation may be a conglomerate of owned and rented farms,
allowing much greater specialization. One finds cash-crop farmers growing new crops for new reasons: corn used not
only for feed but for bio-fuel, soybeans which are high in protein and have been made popular by vegetarians, spelt
which is similar to wheat but causes fewer allergic reactions, and canola (acronym for Canadian oil low-acid) for cooking
oil. There are specialized vegetable farms in the Holland Marsh, known as the “vegetable basket of Ontario,” where
Chinese greens are a large part of the produce. Apple orchards also are found locally, not only in the Holland Marsh, but also in King Township on the 16th Sideroad at Country Apple Orchard west of Jane Street, and at Pine Farms to the east.

Farming itself is different, and very expensive. Large equipment costing from $40,000 for a round baler for hay, up to $350,000 for a combine used to separate kernels of grain from the stalks, have replaced horse-drawn equipment and steam engines. Gone is the widely used gristmill Christopher Stokes built in the 1830’s at King Creek. Gone too, is the water-powered sawmill built by Jacob Tool and bought in 1842 by Septimus Tyrwhitt of Kettleby, which burned down in 1950. Instead, farm implement companies such as John Deere, and large feed mills and farm supply stores now have businesses here. The route from Schomberg to Nobleton on the back road 10th Concession has been replaced by Highway 27. And the farming wife has bought a freezer and gone to work in an office.

But wait – is there a hint of change in the air, a route back to our rural beginnings? Everywhere we look there are signs.
Bookstores carry the latest bestsellers entitled: “The 100 Mile Diet,” or “Animal Vegetable Miracle; a Year Of Eating Locally,” or “Coming Home To Eat,” all telling stories of families or groups who have made commitments to eat local food. Cookbooks are full of recipes using local ingredients, workshop speakers talk about how to become a “locavore” and eating groups offer support and suggestions. Garden plots are springing up all over in the city core. Pesticides have been banned by the federal government and food inspections have been increased. Shoppers bypass inexpensive produce from China or Mexico and head for the organic produce section of the store.

In King Township, at least three organic farms are in operation in Schomberg alone. If you would like to know more about recent farming trends in our local community, take the Schomberg Farm Tour on March 13, or visit the Schomberg Agricultural Fair, “Rural Roots.” May 27-30. Or come to the Arts Society King Soirée on July 11th and enjoy some local
produce from our own backyard in the Holland Marsh.