One of the best-kept secrets of the Valley is tucked away in Elgin, where a small farm – Ferme Michaca – is selling a huge variety of goods, one day per week.
Ferme Michaca has existed since the seventies. Carole Demet, who currently runs the farm, originally started growing mainly organic vegetables with her mother. The farm was named after the three Demet children: Michel, Chantal, and Carole.
It has a bit of everything, with Demet saying, “We grow lettuce, potatoes, carrots, all kinds of beans, eggplants, all the herbs you can think of. We grow a lot of things, a wide variety, to meet most people’s needs.” Because she has both fields and greenhouses, she has wide variety of products all year long.
As a market seller – as opposed to someone who sells mostly to larger retailers – it is important to Demet to have as much variety as possible, because her clients are mostly looking for multiple things in their weekly grocery run. “If I just sold carrots or potatoes, that wouldn’t be very interesting. You need things that attract people,” she says.
The farm is only open one day a week in Elgin; part of the reason is that Demet spends much of her time selling in Montreal markets. However, she plans to soon stop those trips to the city and focus more on selling close to home. As of now, the plan is to open the shop for an additional day per week on top of the regular Tuesday hours – likely on a weekend to be accessible to those who work during the week.
The trips to Montreal take a lot more energy than running the shop close to home. Demet explains, “The trip there takes an hour and a half … but the preparation is pretty much the same. It’s just part of life.” However, she says it’s “pretty demanding.” Demet says she feels that the customers are similar anywhere, regardless of whether they are rural or urban, and that they’re just people who care about their health and want to get fresh, high-quality produce.
Unfortunately, Demet does not have a successor, so once she decides to retire, the farm will stop. “I think it’s still a tough job, and one that takes up a lot of your time. I don’t have kids myself, and even if I did, it would mean having kids who are interested in taking over,” she says.
For Demet, farming is incredibly demanding, but also incredibly rewarding. “You really have to love it. It’s always about the curiosity to try new things, to bring out something special. If it works, that’s great, but there’s always a fresh start. For someone who loves it, it’s enriching, but it’s definitely a lot of work.” Despite it being an extremely physical job where one is “at the mercy of the weather,” Demet loves what she does.
Though the weather has not been favourable so far this year, Demet is not worried about the season. “Sometimes things start off disastrously but eventually settle down, so I’m not worried right now; this is just the beginning.”
Demet’s produce can be found at 3026 Monté Smaill in Elgin, or at the Jean-Talon Market in Montreal. For more information and updates about when her local shop will be expanding its hours, follow her Facebook page, Ferme Michaca.