Meet Greg and Karen McKenna of Country View Farms Ltd. in Newton, PEI! In 1985, the McKennas decided to take over Country View Farms, with the hope of continuing Greg’s family farming legacy. Joining them in their farming operation is their son, Gordon. Together, Greg, Karen and Gordon specialize in seed and processing potatoes.
When asked what the most enjoyable part of working in agriculture was for him, Greg shared that he finds immense personal satisfaction when he looks out the window at the crops he puts his effort into. As a 5th generation farmer, it fills him with a profound sense of achievement every time.
Over the years, the McKennas have found that the most common challenges they face come from Mother Nature’s unpredictability, government bureaucracy, and public perceptions. Nevertheless, they continue to adapt to changing times and strive to prove that being a farmer is something to be proud of.
“Up until about 3-4 years ago, one of our most challenging obstacles was to be in the eyes of the public and to prove to them that being a farmer wasn’t a bad thing. Farmers were getting such bad reputations you didn’t even want to tell people you grew potatoes. It was heartbreaking.”
Karen McKenna, Country View Farms Ltd.
Since joining the EPAA and engaging in the Living Lab – Atlantic project, the McKennas are noticing differences in their farm’s environmental sustainability and how they, as PEI farmers, are perceived.
“With Living Labs, we’ve found that the media presence for farmers is improving. When we started, the goal was to get our group of farmers together to share ideas and see how we could make things better on our own farms. For example, we introduced cover cropping, and it worked wonders. A lot of these ideas had the goal of us becoming more environmentally sustainable. Once that started happening, we started seeing a more positive outlook of PEI farmers from the public. Everyone in the group wanted the same thing: to do better.”
Greg McKenna, Country View Farms Ltd.
Their commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in how they manage their farming practices. For instance, they employ a strict rotation system, reduce their tillage intensity, and actively use precision agriculture technologies. They are also consistently fixing or filling in tree lines, in which they have planted over 400 acres of trees in the past two decades.
In addition, the McKennas support 4R Nutrient Stewardship, a practice that promotes efficient fertilizer use to balance crop performance and environmental protection.
“We are in a brand new era of managing our fertilizer a lot more efficiently. It all comes back to this: if we under-fertilize, our crop performance is low, and if we over-fertilize, we’re putting our environment at risk and wasting money. It’s important to understand that there’s a balancing act when it comes to nutrient management.”
Gordon McKenna, Country View Farms Ltd.
They have also experimented with nurse or companion crops, added 2-3 soil erosion control structures across each field, and planted cover crops such as winter wheat, fall rye, oats, barley, and pearl millet to improve soil quality.
“Our top priority is looking after the soil to ultimately get better crops while protecting the environment in the process.”
Greg McKenna, Country View Farms Ltd.
As responsible stewards of the land, the McKennas strive to continually improve and implement positive changes from one season to another. Together, they hope to foster transparency and understanding about their farming practices with the local community.