b'through the fields to view the cropspremises,checkoutequipment was a highlight of the 2019 DAACsuchasthewaterwheelplanting farmtourday.Didyouknowthatmachine, see the hay dryer used to WillowtreeFarmhasalatedry garlic, go into the green-cropoffreshstrawber- housewhereseedlings riesstillbeinggrownare nurtured, and meet inSeptember?Garlicand greet goats, cows wasbeingharvestedandchickensinthe on tour day. Offshorebarn.Information workers,whotypi- wassharedabout Visitors to callystayforeightcrop rotation, soil sci-months,werebusyence,butcheringand PHOTOS BY LYNN CAMPBELLWillowtree Farm sorting the bulbs.marketing.Next it will be pump- Didyouknowthat taste fresh, local kin season and then maplecowslikepumpkins?They sugar. Theres a sugar shack on theclean up the pumpkin patch, and Strawberriesproperty, and 500 trees are tapped. devourothernutritiousleftovers The tour leaders all spoke of thesuchasbroccolileaves,andeven seasonality of this diversified farmmash from a nearby brewery. In turn, in September! business, where everything grown onthey produce fertilizer for the fields. Jordan McKay speaking on behalf of site, feeds the family and the animals,The DAAC guests were served aWillowtree Farm to the record breaking plussupplies10farmmarkets,thebountiful farm to plate lunch, featur- crowd of 140 people.Toronto food terminal and the farming Willowtrees own roast beef, plusdesign, crafted by Port Perry metal Handpicking 1000 flats ofstore.homegrown fruit and vegetable sideartist Jasmine Rutschmann. strawberries daily. WillowtreeFarmraisesitsowndishes and desserts, including freshlyGoogle willowtreefarm.ca for in-beefandlamb,andobtainsotherpicked September strawberries.formation on farm tours, special events Pressing 10,000 gallons ofmeats from nearby farms. The DAACAsathankyouforhosting,theand more.apple cider. farmtourvisitorscouldwatchMcKayswerepresentedwithan sausagesbeingmadefreshontheartistic gift, a saw with a cut out treeBy Lynn Campbell, Focus on ScugogPacking up 350 boxes of garden veggies to deliver to CSA customers homesTeaching 4-H Club kids how to plant seeds and pick cropsTaking care of hundreds of customers arriving at the same time to pick blueberries!Itsallinadaysworkforthe McKay family and their employees at Scugogs Willowtree Farm. At peak season, there are up to 100 people doing everything from plant-ing to picking to weeding to packing to shipping to working in the retail farm store. There was a record 140 people in at-tendance at the 17th Annual Durham AgriculturalAdvisoryCommittee (DAAC) farm tour held at Willowtree FarmonThursdaySeptember12. Attendees included DAAC members, farmers, and representatives from con-servation authorities, bank employees, politicians from throughout the region and Durham Regional staff.Manyattendeescommentedthat thetractor-pulledfarmwagonride 32FOCUS - OCTOBER 2019'