Mayfair Farms going strong for seven decades

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This article was published 21/07/2017 (3279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“We’re owed a good year,” Todd Giffin said, driving through his vegetable fields at Mayfair Farms in Portage la Prairie.

But Giffin, like most farmers, knows only too well that Mother Nature doesn’t always pay her debts by providing ideal growing conditions. Last summer, a series of wind and hail storms destroyed some of the Giffins’  fields of cabbage and cauliflower. However, so far, this year’s been a good one with an early start to the strawberry and raspberry season at the farm, located at 310B Brandon Ave.

“That’s what we’re known for,” Giffin said, referring to the farm’s popular U-pick and ready-picked berries. When interviewed on July 17, the season was almost over although pickers were still driving up to the fields to buy a basket for picking. Mayfair Farms has about 20 acres of berries.

The farm was originally started in 1940 as a turkey farm by Giffin’s uncle George Hill, a pharmacist and entrepreneur. Giffin’s parents Kelly and Eleanor became involved and are still active. Three of their four sons, Todd, Michael and Scott, who died in 2009, gradually took over farm operations. Some members of the next generation are working full or part-time on the farm.

Giffin said, after ending the turkey operation, a switch to potatoes in the late 1970s wasn’t very successful, but the family kept the farm going thanks to support from other local vegetables growers. They also became Peak of the Market suppliers.

“That opened the door for us to try out other vegetables,” Giffin said.

A game changer proved to be the greenhouse that now contains 30,000 square-feet of growing space. This allows early propagation of seedlings, starting with onions in February.

Giffin said he watches the progress of plants in the greenhouse as a marker for how quickly spring is progressing and when he should begin outdoor planting.

“We always want to have stuff to sell,” he said.

With this in mind, the Giffins have diversified over the years, growing carrots, cauliflower, onions, radishes, cabbage, cucumbers, beets, broccoli, tomatoes, pumpkins, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, potatoes, light red kidney beans, green and yellow beans, romaine and leaf lettuce and wheat.

Giffin said that they are experimenting with okra, eggplant and sweet potatoes, but any new additions have to fit in with the farm’s overall growing schedule.

Right now, their main vegetable crops, grown on a total of about 500 acres in the Portage area, are cauliflower and cabbage. Giffin estimates that the farm produces over 2.5 million pounds of cauliflower and a total of two million pounds of green, red and Savoy cabbage annually.

Giffin said cauliflower is increasing in consumer popularity as its health benefits become better known.

Onions are another major crop with cold storage available on-farm. Giffin said their onions are sold through Peak of the Market.

The family has also moved into growing bean varieties that they dry and market.

The farm’s U-pick business was decreasing until recent years when young families started coming out to enjoy the chance to collect their own berries and see where they are grown.

Giffin said the buy locally grown produce trend has helped Mayfair Farms, They offer freshly picked produce and locally made jams and condiments in an on-farm shop open during the warmer months.

At the peak growing season, the farm employs about 100 people including migrant workers from Mexico, many of whom have come to work on the farm for years.

“They’ve become part of the farm,” Giffin said.

He credits the rich soil deposited by Assiniboine River flooding and the accessibility of water from the river as being natural assets for his farm and those of other local vegetable growers.

“We are in a unique area. Our produce grows big.”

For more information on Mayfair Farms, see www.mayfairfarms.ca