Meet Jon of Thompson Small Farm:
The humble egg: a staple of baking and breakfast. But not all eggs are created equal, and Jonathan Wright and Andrea Thompson can prove it.
The duo own and operate an 80-acre farm in Bergen, Alberta that produces free-range chickens and eggs. You can find Jonathan selling their product out of the back of his pickup truck at the weekly Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmers’ Market. But when you see him, know this: bringing these chickens and eggs to market is just the final step in an elaborate, and somewhat unconventional, process.
Jonathan was an environmentalist and conservationist living in Southern Ontario, but he uprooted his life there in order to apply his commitment to sustainability through hands-on work. He also wanted to stay true to his rural roots, so farming was the perfect fit.
After a few years in Carbon, Alberta, Jonathan and Andrea found a small farm for sale in Bergen, which they considered a tremendous opportunity given the pristine setting of the foothills and its conduciveness to raising chickens.
Limiting their operation to just chickens and a few livestock, the two set out on building a farm devoted to sustainable practices. Today, that devotion is reflected in a number of ways, so much so that their methods seem unconventional.
The farm is run predominately on horse power rather than machinery, thereby avoiding a reliance on fossil fuels. “I would drive a horse to the farmers’ market if I could, but that just isn’t practical,” Jonathan says.
Using horses for the bulk of the work offers several advantages. It is a lower-cost option compared to mechanization, and the animals are less harsh on the land; quite the opposite in fact.
The horses and other livestock play an integral part in the mob grazing system applied on the farm. Mob grazing involves concentrating the grazing of larger animals to a defined area until the grass there is exhausted. The herd is then moved to a different area for them to graze on a new section of grass.
Meanwhile, the chickens are moved on to the previous area, where they feed on insects and add their own droppings to the ground, acting as a natural fertilizer. The chickens are then moved and that portion of land is left for the grass to recuperate. The grazed area regrows fast and lush, and the cycle continues.
This self-reinforcing system leads to healthier grass, livestock and chickens. Jonathan suggests that raising chickens in this manner and not feeding them genetically modified ingredients or soy products is of ultimate benefit to consumers. He says the proof is in the high-quality, nutritious eggs and poultry he sells each week.
