FARM MARKET I FEATURE
List of products just keeps growing at innovative local farm and store
Asparagus farm’s projects just keep growing.
ASPARAGUS IS a year-round product at Barrie’s Asparagus Farm and Country Market. When it’s not fresh in season, it turns up in a whole roster of other foods — pasta, tomato sauce, tortilla chips, salsa, flour, preserves and even tea.
All of the products are made by local food processors using asparagus from the Barrie farm. As owner Tim Barrie notes, “Asparagus is our specialty, 12 months of the year,”
But the local produce goes beyond asparagus. The selection at this store, situated on the family farm on Kings Road between Kitchener and Cambridge, also includes fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, eggs, baking, honey, cider and maple syrup.
Barrie, 51, has also launched a line of natural body-care products called Lily Pure Naturals. Named in honour of Lily Goddard, a two-year-old Waterloo girl who died of a
brain tumour in 2004, a portion of the sales will support the Montreal Brain Tumour Research Centre at McGill University. The first product is a natural soap made locally with Barrie’s asparagus and rhubarb, and imprinted with the image of a dragonfly, in memory of Lily.
Barrie was inspired to raise money for brain tumour research after reading about the little girl’s struggle in the Waterloo Region Record in 2004. In November of that year, Barrie spearheaded a fundraiser that netted $82,000 for the research centre.
Barrie is the fourth generation on the farm, which was established in 1892. He has been involved in the operation his whole life, but for many years had to work off-farm to make ends meet. About four years ago, he opened the on-farm store and expanded into value-added products like the pasta and tortilla chips.
“Selling fresh asparagus alone was not viable due to cheap imports,” Barrie explains. “There seemed to be demand for the first few things we tried so we just expanded.” The asparagus harvest lasts about six weeks during May and June. All of the asparagus is hand-harvested. Some is sent to a processor in London, Ont., where it is dehydrated to lock in the nutrients. Known as a super food, asparagus is high in vitamin K, B6, fibre and antioxidants. This dehydrated asparagus is then used in the making of the pasta, salsa, tomato sauce and other products.
Barrie’s country market is a family affair. Barrie’s wife Libby, twin daughters Mallory and Emily, 21, daughter Hannah 18 and son Will, 13, are all involved in the farm and store. His wife and daughters also act as a sounding board, helping to develop and test ideas. As well, the daughters make deliveries to the various retail outlets that sell the Barrie’s products.
“My daughters can answer questions about the business, how and when products were made,” says Barrie.
A natural innovator, Barrie enjoys working with the 12 food industry partners that make products for him. “Diversity is one of the keys to the success of my business,” he says.
While not all of the products under the Barrie label contain asparagus, they do adhere to Barrie’s commitment to local foods. Last year he launched a kettle-style potato chip. Called Spud’s Finest, the chips are named for his mother who was nicknamed Spud because she grew up on a large potato farm. Barrie says most potato chip brands are made with potatoes from various places, but Spud’s Finest are made only with Ontario potatoes.
Sometimes Barrie’s business has branched out in new directions purely as a result of serendipitous opportunities. One of Barrie’s customers works at J.T. Bakeries in Kitchener and she suggested making a local cracker. “The next thing I knew I was sitting around a board room table with the owner,” Barrie says.
These crackers are made with local wheat and contain no MSG, artificial flavours or artificial colours.
About four years ago, Barrie ventured into raising pastured pork at his farm. It’s probably not surprising that some of the pork is made into sausages that contain >>
>> Barrie’s asparagus. He also sells freerange chicken thighs wrapped in asparagus and Asagio cheese.
Last year Barrie began offering a green tea blend that includes some of his dehydrated asparagus. He had been selling teas blended by the Red Teapot Studio in the Preston area of Cambridge and challenged the owner to come up with a blend that contained asparagus for its nutritional properties. It has sold far better than expected, says Barrie.
“People buy it out of curiosity, but they come back because it tastes good.”
Red Teapot also blends a tea featuring rhubarb from the farm.
Barrie’s business philosophy is simple. He believes in surrounding himself with people who are the best in the business and have the same philosophy as he does. He also strives to honour the values of his ancestors – their integrity, work ethic and love for the land.
While Barrie’s innovative streak has been critical to the success of his business, it’s his
There seemed to be demand for the first few things we tried so we just expanded. Tim Barrie
genuine interest in people that has driven the business forward. Barrie’s Grandpa McMann was the first in the family to grow asparagus and he taught Barrie the importance of customer service.
“He told me that every customer should leave your farm feeling good,” explains Barrie, who is determined to follow this example in his on-farm retail store, where he takes the time to connect with his customers.
His strong people skills have helped him establish relationships with not only his customers and food processors, but also retailers. Today products containing Barrie’s asparagus are found in many retail outlets across the province.
When he was considering launching a line of natural soaps, Barrie polled these retailers to see if they would be interested in carrying a locally made soap.
The response I got was “bring it when it’s ready,” he says, not “bring a sample and we’ll see.”