Arlie and Brett LaRoche run Farm One Forty near Vanscoy, Saskatchewan where they have developed a Farm to Table approach to maximize income for their farm where they practice regenerative agriculture.
Learning about Holistic Management they developed a holistic context that provided direction for the farm. “It gave us a big-picture idea of what we wanted our lives and our farm to be like. Using that as a tool to help decide whether to take opportunities as they arose was also crucial,” says Arlie. “The holistic context helped us let go of certain opportunities and realize that they were not a good fit for us.”
After taking a trip to Hawaii where they experienced a farm tour and lunch, they realized that perhaps they could offer a similar experience on their farm. So in 2015 they used their contacts at restaurants in Saskatoon to help them develop a farm to table experience.
Those events went so well that they built a permanent structure on their farm so these events wouldn’t be so labor intensive.
By 2019 they actually opened a restaurant in Saskatoon, in partnership with two other people. “We own it together; the general manager and the head chef are partners with us. We supply the restaurant with our products—the meat and vegetables that we grow here, and the honey,” Arlie says. Now the staff can come to the farm to make the farm’s dinners even more doable for Arlie and Brett.
To learn more about how Arlie and Brett have grown Farm One Forty, visit HMI’s IN PRACTICE online archives at: https://issuu.com/hmi-in_practice/docs/212_hmi_inpractice_final_small/5
If you are exploring what enterprises are the right mix for your farm, consider taking HMI's Holistic Financial Planning Online course to help you explore your options holistically.