The Homestead

2500 acres713082 Range Road 131, Goodfare, Alberta, T0H 1T0Donovan and Lisa Kitt

Consciously working with natural cycles to produce nourishing food.

Products

  • 100% Grass-fed beef
  • Organic pork
  • organic chicken
  • organic eggs
  • organic vegetables
  • organic micro-greens

Regenerative Practices

  • Minimize soil disturbance
    • Minimum-till 
      Minimum tillage is a soil cultivation practice that reduces the number, depth (0-10 cm), and intensity of tillage operations (no inversion of the soil) to minimize soil disturbance.
    • Permanent grassland 
      A parcel of land composed primarily of herbaceous grasses, including perennials and native plant species, which can be used for grazing, forage, or biomass production.
  • Keep the soil covered and maintain living roots year-round
    • Cover crops 
      Plants grown alongside, preceding, or following cash crops with the purpose of increasing soil fertility, reducing soil erosion, and suppressing weeds.
    • Organic mulch 
      Organic mulch involves covering the soil surface with a protective barrier to increase soil health, reduce soil erosion, and suppress weeds. the mulch can be composed of various organic materials such as straw, leaves, or compost.
  • Protect and enhance biodiversity
    • Diverse crop rotations 
      Planting crops with different characteristics in sequence on the same field over time
    • Pollinator buffers 
      Patches or rows of diverse flowering vegetation that provide pollinators with permanent habitats and food sources. they can be planted as intercrops or at the edge of fields.
    • Habitat conservation/creation/restoration 
      The conservation, creation, and restoration of ecosystems to improve habitat value for wildlife. forests, prairies, riparian areas, or wetlands can be restored along farmland.
  • Optimize input use
    • Compost 
      Organic matter that has been recycled through a composting process into a form that can be used as a soil amendment.\r\ncompost is the stable, nutrient-rich product of decomposed organic matter—such as plant residues, manure, or food scraps—that has been biologically processed under controlled aerobic conditions.
    • Manure 
      Manure (also known as livestock manure) is a type of soil amendment rich in nitrogen that integrates soil organic matter back into the soil and feeds the soil food web.
    • Minimal to no use of synthetic pesticides 
      Any product, device, organism, substance or thing that is manufactured, represented, sold or used as a means for directly or indirectly controlling, preventing, destroying, mitigating, attracting or repelling any pest (health canada, 2024).\r\nin canada, the most used pesticide active ingredient types are glyphosate, 2,4-d, glufosinate ammonium, and mcpa (all herbicides). then, there are also insecticides and fungicides such as chlorpyrifos, clothianidin, or chlorothalonil.
    • Minimal to no use of synthetic fertilizers 
      Fertilizers that are derived from synthetic sources. \r\nas plants extract nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur are the four most important nutrients) from the soil during every growing season, they must be replenished through fertilizers, manure, legume cover crops (through nitrogen fixing), and compost added to fields annually.
  • Preserve and restore natural ecosystems
    • Maintain living roots year-round (agroforestry and perennials)
      • Perennial crops (grasslands) 
        Crops that regrow each year in a specific climate without needing to be reseeded.
      • Windbreaks 
        A single row or multiple rows of trees and shrubs to break the force of winds.
      • Riparian buffers 
        Mixed woody and non-woody species planted along the edges of bodies of water (streams, rivers, lakes, or ponds).
      • Native perennial vegetation conservation 
        The conservation of existing—or reintroduction of—native perennial vegetation, those that occur naturally in a region in which it evolved. it includes grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, and coastal habitats.
      • Silvopasture 
        The planned and managed integration of livestock, trees, and forage in a farm system.
    • Improve water cycles
      • Water conservation 
        The optimized use of water for crops and trees, or strict water use during critical periods of crop stages.
      • Wetland restoration 
        Reestablishing the natural hydrology, vegetation, and ecological function of a wetland area that has been drained, degraded, or altered.
    • Integrate animals on the lands and ensure their welfare
      • Adaptive multi-paddock grazing 
        Adaptive multi-paddock (amp) grazing is a regenerative grazing system in which livestock are grazed in small paddocks and are moved frequently, resulting in short but intense grazing intervals. the system of multiple small paddocks means that cattle do not circle back to a pasture for a long period of time, allowing for long pasture recovery periods. the word “adaptive” in amp means adapting the duration of livestock on a pasture according to forage availability and the weather, all in the goal of avoiding overgrazing and overstocking.
      • Bale grazing 
        Feeding livestock by placing hay bales directly on pasture during fall or winter, allowing animals to graze in place while naturally distributing manure and nutrients.
      • Pastured pigs or poultry 
        The managed integration of pigs or poultry on pasture.
      • Multi-species grazing 
        A grazing system in which multiple species of livestock (cattle, sheep, chickens, etc.) are grazed on the same area of land, either at the same time or following one another in the rotation.

    Observations

    • Drought Resilience
    • Fantastic tasting products
    • Reduced insect pressure
    • Enhanced biodiversity

    Certifications

    • Organic (EcoCert)
    • Grass-fed (AGW)
    • Regenerative organic certified (roc)
    • Certified humane

    How to buy

    • Online sales, pop-up market (Grain Bin Brewing), restaurants (Grande Prairie), Homesteader Health, farm sales.
    Contact
    thehomesteadfarm.cainfo@thehomesteadfarm.ca780-356-2744
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