Sage Valley Farm is located on a grid road east of Lisieux, a community 42 kilometres south of Assiniboia. Dustin Miller and his wife Amy purchased the farm from his parents in 2011. They moved from Alberta in 2016 to centre on producing sustainable food production on their farm beautifully situated on top of a hill within the rolling prairie lands surrounding Fife Lake.
“We’re quite sustainable,” Amy Miller said as she described their farm. “We raise our own produce, meat and eggs. We grind our own flour. Lots of what I use is either grown on the farm or within a half-hour radius.” Additionally, the Millers have their own source of dairy.
“Everything we do, we try and help our community as much as we help ourselves,” Amy said.
The 480-acre farm divided into native grasslands and hay pasture has produced a variety of organic products for customers in the south country region and other areas of Saskatchewan.
“Once a month, we do food deliveries to Assiniboia, Moose Jaw and Regina.” Some of these deliveries are taken to the Farmer’s Table – a non-profit offering sustainable foods produced in Saskatchewan for urban-based consumers. Products from the Miller’s farm are also transported further afield to Saskatoon, Yorkton, Canora and Fort Qu'Appelle
“We raise chickens, turkeys, pigs, milk cows and beef cows,” Amy added as she further outlined Sage Valley Farm’s products and services.
The farm is a self-contained operation powered by solar – even the feed for the animals is milled on the Sage Valley property. “We are able to control what is going into our animals diet including unnecessary antibiotics,” Amy conveyed then explained how the feed for their livestock is sourced from neighbouring farms from surplus grains for seeding or left over from harvests.
Sage Valley Farm livestock, including the chickens and turkeys, are also feed grass from fresh grazing areas. Although the chickens and turkeys have to be kept in pens because of roving predators, they’re kept in movable pens, also known as chicken tractors, which are shifted over fresh ground on a rotational basis.
“We also have multiple greenhouses for produce,” Amy continued. Additionally, Sage Valley Farm retails spices, herbs and fresh roasted coffee. Sage Valley Farm is planning to raise honey bees in the future to advance the pollination of their crops and eventually produce honey. In the near future, the Millers are considering adding new livestock for grazing.
Sage Valley Farm has often opened their doors for student and senior citizen tours. With the advent of COVID-19, these tours have ceased temporarily. However, Sage Valley Farm is still searching for volunteers to help out on the farm this spring and summer. Volunteers at the farm live in a cottage, eat free meals and help with routine chores.
To find out more about Sage Valley Farm and what they offer in terms of goods and services, visit their website at https://www.knowyourfarmer.ca/.
