Carrot Kings Honored

Six years ago, Jason and Kevin Stallaert quietly applied for a patent concerning a new way to grow carrots during winter months, even in normally frigid Chatham-Kent.

It means C-K residents can buy local carrots in April – something unheard of 10 years ago.

The Stallaert brothers were honoured as Industry of the Month by the C-K Chamber of Commerce in March for their company, Nature’s Finest Produce Ltd. Located in Pain Court, the carrot-and-onion-growing farmers are already an agriculture fixture in southern Ontario.

“We can all look at their list of accomplishments,” said Mayor Randy Hope, there to present the award Thursday. “It’s important . . . the added value that industries like this bring to the table.”

“Our goal is to do two things,” he added. “Feed the North American market . . . and look for advantages that we we have.”

Cold weather usually isn’t an advantage for farmers, something NFP turned on its head with “overwinter” carrots. Their unique process actually makes spring carrots sweeter, and gives NFP a distinct advantage. Usually, carrot crops cannot survive sub-zero temperatures.

“The key is to stay ahead of the competition,” Kevin Stallaert said. “To do something different . . . they were already doing (this sort of thing) in Europe . . . but where they’re doing it, winters aren’t as cold (as they are here.)”

They solved the problem by layering roughly 18 inches of straw over the crop, allowing crops to thrive in temperatures as low as -20 C.

For their efforts, NFP won the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation and Excellence in 2010.

“We have a great staff,” Jason Stallaert said. “We certainly couldn’t do it without them.”

The company is a true locally grown operation. The brothers both grew up near Dover and started farming tomatoes in 1994, taking after their father.

“He’s mostly retired now . . . but he still brings us coffee once in a while,” Kevin joked. “Never grew a carrot in his life.”

In 2007, they created the Nature’s Finest Produce Ltd. brand, and switched to carrots and onions. Less than a decade later, their products can be found across Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, and in many eastern U.S. states.

This year, Loblaws is marketing second-tier vegetables at a reduced price. The goal is to make food more affordable and to waste less produce, emulating similar initiatives around the globe.

NFP is on board with the plan. Kevin says it will help the business, which already exports up to 12 tractor-trailers of carrots to the U.S. per day during peak season.

“We hope to be the No. 1 producer of carrots in Canada,” Kevin said.

SOURCE: www.chathamdailynews.ca