Meet the Member: Shaw Creek Farm

This month for our Meet the Member feature, we’re excited to be featuring a local, family-run seed potato Farm nestled in the Pemberton Meadows: Shaw Creek Farm.
Shaw Creek Farm is a multi-generational business that is dedicated to producing high quality seed potatoes and delicious, nutritious food. They work closely alongside their family and other farmers in our area and are committed to doing all they can to promote and support small farms in our area, as well as across BC.

Tell us a little about yourself, how you landed in Pemberton, and what life outside work looks like.

I (Michelle) moved to Pemberton when I was in high school with my sister and her husband. John, my husband, has lived in Pemberton, on our farm, his whole life. Living where you work makes it hard to separate work from play. We do most of our recreating in the winter months. There is just too much going on in the spring, summer and fall. When we are not working I like to read, x-country ski and hang out with my granddaughters. John plays hockey in the old timers league in Whistler. We both like to ride bikes and go for walks and work on puzzles. Although we have a hard and fast rule, no puzzles from April to November. They are way too distracting!

Why did you decide to be a business owner and start Shaw Creek Farm?

John’s father started Shaw Creek Farms in the late 50’s. As long as he can remember, John has wanted to be a farmer so he naturally followed in his father’s footsteps. John worked alongside his Dad from a very young age. He learned to drive a tractor as a small child probably before he could ride a bike! He took over the business at the age of 20 when his father died suddenly. It was a tough time for us as he lost a teacher as well as a father. I was brought into the business when we were married. Not much choice in the matter…..you don’t just marry a farmer you marry the farm as well! When our kids were little, he took a job logging to help make ends meet. Logging during the week and farming in the evenings and on weekends. It hasn’t always been easy but it’s more than a business, it’s a lifestyle.

What is the biggest challenge to operating your business?

Oh my gosh…don’t get me started! Farms are facing so many challenges nowadays. The seed potato industry is losing farmers at an alarming rate. We are doing all we can to hang on in an industry that is getting smaller by the day. Weather is a huge challenge for us and it is becoming more of a challenge with climate change. We have faced floods and droughts in the same year sometimes. Finding people willing to work on a farm when we need extra workers has become downright impossible. The costs associated with running our farm seem to be rising all the time but the price we get for our product goes up quite a bit slower. The price of cattle, for instance, is not much more than what John’s Dad got 50 years ago. But by far the biggest challenge facing our farm is the availability of affordable land. The price of land is out of reach for anyone wanting to buy it and pay for it by farming it. Farm land in our area is being sold as estates for the wealthy, not farms for farmers. It makes it difficult to plan for expansion or to be able to lease land. A lot of the people buying large tracts of land in our area don’t want farmers actually farming it. Too much dust, too much noise, too many flies from cattle. You name it we’ve heard it. It can be a real struggle to find land to lease. Farming is a tough racket and it is just getting tougher with federal, provincial and local governments adding more and more regulations and fees.

What is the greatest reward?

Good question. I am currently quite disillusioned with farming so it’s a good exercise for me to reflect on what I love about it. Being your own boss is a big one. Although we work very hard for most of the year, the ability to have some downtime in the winter is great. Being able to live and work in such a beautiful place has me pinching myself some days. And really, the job we are doing is so important. We grow food and we do it while working with family and being part of such a great community of farmers.

What would you like people to know about Shaw Creek Farm?

Shaw Creek Farm is a multi-generational business that is dedicated to producing high quality seed potatoes and delicious, nutritious food. We work closely alongside our family and other farmers in our area and we are committed to doing all we can to promote and support small farms in our area and in BC as well. We have diversified as our family has grown with our daughter in law now growing flowers for her thriving wedding flower business. There is no more important business in the world than growing food and we are proud to be a part of that.

Support Shaw Creek Farm by finding their potatoes and other vegetables in local grocers, as well as by following them on Facebook