BONNYVILLE – Charlotte Lake Farms welcomed visitors from Cold Lake, Bonnyville, and across the Lakeland during Alberta Open Farm Days on Aug. 16 and 17, giving families the chance to see firsthand where their food comes from.
For owner Leona Bonneau, a third-generation owner with her husband Guy Bonneau, the event was about building understanding between farmers and the public.
“This is our fifth [Open] Farm Days in the last six years. And for us, it's to educate the people and bridge the gap between us farmers and people that are not in agriculture,” she said.
The goal was to help visitors understand how food is raised and grown, and remind them that food comes from the land, not just the grocery store. The tours also showed how farming is a lifestyle rooted in care and responsibility, according to Bonneau.
“I think a lot of it is that they understand that it's a way of life but it's also how we take care of the animals,” she said. “There's time slots to allow us enough time to teach and educate and they can ask questions . . . sometimes we think that everybody just knows, but they don't.”
Focus on water
This year’s theme was water, and Charlotte Lake Farms highlighted its solar-powered water pumping system that supplies thousands of gallons daily to its herd.
“What we're showcasing is our solar water pumping system that we use to water our cattle,” Bonneau explained. “Each animal basically gets one gallon of water per 100 pounds of weight . . . We use 3,000 gallons a day, so it comes to 11,000 litres of water - It's a lot of water.”
She explained that when her family took over the farm in 2014, the water well produced very little water, forcing them to haul daily from Fort Kent to keep the cattle supplied.
“The following year, we put two wells in. One is running off the municipal electricity, the other is running off solar. So, it charges the batteries, it runs the pump, it fills the tank and then flows to the water with gravity and the cows drink from there,” she said. “This well gives 50 gallons a minute. The other well at the far end gives 150 gallons a minute.”
Bonneau also reminded visitors of the importance of rain for the farm’s success.
“For us, rain is so important. It gives life to the farm, it gives life to the ground, it gives life to our animals.”
Showcasing the farm
Visitors were shown how the cattle interact on the farm and toured the pumpkin patch, which Bonneau said has helped diversify their income over the past five years.
She also shared how the farm feeds its animals.
“You are what you eat, but you always taste what they eat as well. So, it goes into the mix. For us, we feed grass. Obviously hay during the winter that we have to bale or buy, which we had to do this year because of drought,” she said. “And then we also do brown oats, which is a high protein grain, but this spring we ran out, so they've been on grass all summer. We usually finish with brown oats.”
For many kids, the tour was their first time stepping onto a farm.
“A lot of young kids think that you get your chicken, you get your cheese from your groceries store,” Bonneau said. “That's part of the disconnect between the farm and some kids have never set foot on a farm in their life.”
Bonneau said the tours also gave kids a chance to learn the value of hard work by taking part in farm tasks.
Feeding the community
At the heart of Charlotte Lake Farms’ mission is keeping food local.
“That's how we decided to go to beef. We wanted to keep our meat in the area,” Bonneau said. “We want the community to feed the community.”
Several other locations were also featured across the Lakeland during Open Farm Days, this year.
